


911: Wolf Lodge

by FireflySummerwynd



Category: Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe, Poison (US Band)
Genre: EMS, Fire, M/M, Multi, Police, first responder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:35:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22331221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflySummerwynd/pseuds/FireflySummerwynd
Summary: Three very unlikely men come together to work for the greater good, but what they ultimately get Ends up being even greater than they expected.
Relationships: Duff McKagan/Bobby Dall, Nikki Sixx/Bobby Dall
Comments: 22
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've been an avid fan of _911_ ever since it premiered a couple Years ago–I blame the woman I now refer to as _The Critter_ for that. I decided to give the new spin-off, _911: Lone Star,_ a shot when it aired the first half of a two-Night premiere tonight, and I wound up getting Inspired.
> 
> While there _will_ be mentions of being musicians during their off-Time, it's strictly for fun instead of being their Primary career. This is meant to be an AU of what Nikki, Duff, and Bobby'd go through as three different types of first responders who ultimately have to work together, like it or not. I may or may not mention some of their Reality band mates from Time-to-Time, but it'll likely be in the capacity of a victim or criminal, depending on the scene that pops into mind–but I haven't decided on that part for sure yet.  
> ~Firefly

_Wolf Lodge, Idaho_

_June, 1986_

Pulling up outside what was to become his new second home, Sergeant Nikolas _Nikki_ Sixx couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. For the first Time in his short twenty-seven Years, he finally got the feeling that he was really and truly at home, rather than an outsider in the place that was supposed to be such. Maybe that was ’cuz he’d finally relocated from his hometown to a place where nobody knew him–and therefore that he was gay–and could make or break it based on the merit of his own strong back. Granted, his grandparents’d always done everything they could to make him feel at home with them, but they couldn’t stop the whispers and stares around Jerome from the other townsfolk.

With their caskets barely in the ground after the freak highway accident that’d stolen their Lives, he’d started making plans to get the hell outta that small town. He didn’t give a damn where he wound up when it was all said and done, as long as he was nowhere near Jerome, Idaho. Finding an opening for the small police department in the equally small town of Wolf Lodge about forty-five miles East of Spokane, Washington was almost like a Goddess-sent Blessing for him.

He knew damn good and well that he might find many of the same stigmas in Wolf Lodge that he’d found in Jerome, but hopefully, he’d be able to hide the Truth about himself. Even if he couldn’t, Nikki hoped that the townsfolk here weren’t quite as prejudiced as in his hometown, that they could and would accept him for who he was. Of course, the acceptance he either got or didn’t was gonna be one of those things he’d have to prove himself worthy of, and he damn well knew it. That was one of many things he was more than willing to do as he stepped outta his personal truck to head into his new station.

Squaring his shoulders as he took a deep breath and released it in a sigh, the young, but already decently high-ranking cop geared himself up for a rough first Day on the job. It wouldn’t be as hard as when he’d first gotten outta BLET and joined the force in his hometown, but he knew it wouldn’t be easy, either. Only Time’d tell just how hard or easy things’d be for him, and the townsfolk’d be a big deciding factor in how this went.

* * *

_Seattle, Washington_

_July, 1986_

In the next State over to the West Coast, there was a young man who’d recently been promoted to the rank of firefighter-slash-EMT. Mike _Duff_ McKagan, the youngest of eight–in general, _and_ the youngest boy–had felt the need to follow in his father’s footsteps and headed for the Seattle Fire Department the Day he turned eighteen. None of his older brothers’d followed in his footsteps unless they’d been drafted into the military, particularly his brother Mark during the Vietnam War. He felt that it was up to him to really and truly bring Honor to the family name, something his father’d thrown out the window about ten Years ago.

Working hard had gotten him promoted a bit quicker than most did, and he didn’t let that come from anyone in the firehouse recognizing his surname. In fact, he’d practically growled at his Captain and nearly thrown a cup of coffee in his face when he’d even suggested promoting him three Years ago just ’cuz of who his father was, both of those things being definite _no-nos_.

But since he couldn’t seem to keep the name of Elmer _Mac_ McKagan dissociated from himself and his performance, he’d decided it was Time for a Change. Even though it ripped a part of his heart out since he loved being close to his mother, Duff’d packed up his entire Life with the Intent to move to the State next door. He promised his mother he wouldn’t go any further away without a helluva job offer, but he needed to distance himself from Seattle. That’d led to him being hired by the Wolf Lodge Fire Department in a small town by the same name about twenty miles over the State line. He’d be living somewhere in the vicinity of the firehouse, which was about a mile off I-ninety, when he wasn’t on-duty.

Marie couldn’t help a sniffle as she watched her son climb into his truck to leave her house for what’d been the last Time for a while. She knew damn good and well wanting to distance himself from his hometown and his father’s name wasn’t the only reason he was leaving everything he knew and loved behind. Her only Hope as she watched him drive off to start his New Life was that being openly gay in a small town wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass later.

* * *

_Miami, Florida_

_August, 1986_

Clear across the country from our other first responders, a third young man who’d spent the last few Years working equally hard squared his shoulders as he walked into Miami International Airport. Twenty-two-Year-old Bobby Dall’d grown sick of the open hatred of being gay, despite the number of Lives he’d managed to save in the past few Years. Starting out as an EMR and volunteer firefighter, he’d known things wouldn’t be easy for him, but he hadn’t expected thingsta be quite this hard.

His beloved mother, Lynda, and his older siblings’d tried to talk him outta moving up to the tiny town of Wolf Lodge, Idaho. They’d sworn up and down that he’d never adjust from living in a humid, almost Tropical environment to one that was closer to subarctic, even in the Summer. But such a ridiculously drastic climate Change was all but his last option left, if he’d any Will to survive, and he knew it.

Putting up with those in his hometown who were prejudiced toward anyone who wasn’t straight and some form of Christian wasn’t easy, and never had been. However, Bobby’d reached the point that if he heard one more snarky remark about being gay, he’d take himself outta the equation by taking his own Life. Knowing that he’d reached that point, his family knew that seeing him move so far away prolly was the better option, ’cuz they certainly didn’t wanna be paying for his Crypt yet. Even if he were to die on the job, they wouldn’t wanna, but they certainly didn’t wanna ’cuz he’d chosen to End it all, himself. They knew he was stronger than that, even if he’d to prove that a bit differently than any of them woulda chosen to prove it.

Boarding his flight that’d take him up to Spokane, Washington, he knew his Life was about to Change irrevocably, and he couldn’t wait. He was glad that he was making his big move at the Beginning of Summer, though, ’cuz carefully consulting farmer’s almanacs’d told him that while it wasn’t as warm as Miami, it was certainly warmer than it’d be that Winter. Moving now gave him a chance to get settled and somewhat adjusted to small-town Life, as well as to ease into the harsh Winter months once they were finally upon him.


	2. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, I know, but I got this idea in the middle of the Night, and I'm not far from heading off to bed. I'll try to work on it and even my other WIP, _Colors of Love,_ after I tackle the pile of dishes in my sink once I get some sleep. In the meantime, here's a lil action of the more or less clean kind to get us started off...  
> ~Firefly

_Wolf Lodge, Idaho_

_September, 1990_

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

_“I need cops, Fire,_ and _EMS out at Silver Lake Bar and Grille!”_ the caller responded. _“Damn fools done got into a fight that got outta hand, and now the whole place’s up in Flames!”_

Rolling her eyes, the dispatcher taking this particular call for Kootenai County Emergency Services took down all the information she possibly could before the line went dead. Even as she sent out the call to all the appropriate personnel, she couldn’t help but wonder just why the folks in a town as small as Wolf Lodge couldn’t be Calmer than this. Sure, Friday and Saturday Nights were known for being a bit on the crazy side–especially during the Full Moon–but usually, they weren’t _this_ level of crazy.

Lieutenant Nikki Sixx’d been parked a couple blocks down the road from where the call’d apparently originated from when he’d seen trouble start. He’d seen what appeared to be a fight come pouring out the front door of the Silver Fox Bar and Grille, a personal favorite of his, as far as hang-outs went. After watching for a few moments, he’d decided not to intervene, ’cuz it’d seemed like the combatants’d worked their shit out and were going their separate ways. There was no need for him to stick his nose into it, no matter the position and rank he held in this town, if folks were willing to sort it out and leave well enough alone before things got _too_ outta hand on their own.

Hearing that particular call from dispatch had him grabbing the mic for his radio at the same Time he turned the key in the ignition of his patrol car. Something’d told him before he’d ever left home to go on-duty almost twelve hours ago that tonight wasn’t gonna End well, although he couldn’t have said why. Maybe it was ’cuz it was the Night of the _Wine Moon,_ which meant things were bound to be crazier than they normally were.

“Dispatch, this is unit six-six-six,” he said, thumb on the mic’s button as he threw his car into gear and turned on his Lights and sirens. “I’m ’bout two blocks out, so count me there.”

_“Copy that, Lieutenant,”_ the dispatcher said, easily recognizing his voice since it wasn’t like this was a very big town full of people.

Stomping the gas at the same Time he clipped the mic back into its holder, Nikki was quick to arrive on-scene at one of only two bars in town. He wasn’t surprised to see black Smoke already billowing from the roof of the place any more than he was surprised to see who the supposed combatants were. One was well-known to pretty much every cop and sheriff’s deputy in both the town and county, while the other just looked like a guy caught up in the wrong place at the wrong Time.

His door was already thrown open, sirens killed but Lights still flashing, before his patrol car’d even screeched to a full stop in the gravel parking lot. Even as his right hand drew his service pistol from the holster on his hip in the same motion he used to climb outta said car, he was already screaming for handsta been shown. While he might be a bit impulsive at Times, this particular Lieutenant was far from stupid–even if he was more street- than book-smart, he was still pretty intelligent. Besides, no cop wanted to go running into any kinda situation and be unable to see a person’s hands, if only ’cuz they didn’t know what, if any weapons they could have and try to pull on them.

The ginger who’d been screaming at the other combatant–a guy he knew by the name of Axl Rose–damn near jumped outta his skin before turning to face him. Considering all the Times he’d responded to calls that this guy was involved in, he was more than a lil glad he’d already pulled his weapon. No one ever really knew what this guy was gonna do, ’cuz he was about as unpredictable as a Tornado more often than not.

Before he even fully realized what’d hit him, Lt. Sixx was shoving him down so that he practically ate the gravel beneath their feet and pulling his arms behind his back. Sure, he was prolly rougher than he Intended to be, considering their size difference, but he was at his wit’s End with this guy. He was forever causing trouble pretty much everywhere he went, ’cuz his mouth seemed to run harder and faster than the nearby Wolf Lodge Creek–which eventually fed into Wolf Lodge Bay–when the Winter Snows first started melting. And he didn’t know when the shut the fuck up and leave well enough alone, on top of it all, so things were never easy.

“For fuck’s sake, Isbell!” the Lieutenant snapped, hauling his cuffed suspect up off the ground. “What’ve I toldja about keeping this asshat in line?”

“It’s Izzy,” the soft-spoken brunette sighed as he rolled his eyes. “And how many Times do I’ve to tell ya? No one Controls Axl without committing murder–for which, I’m not willing to go to jail.”

“I swear to the Gods,” Nikki grumbled, ripping open the back door of his patrol car. “I hear a single peep outta ya, Rose, and I’ma drown ya in the Creek this Time!”

“Fuck off, asshole!” the ginger snapped, making a noise that he recognized all too well.

“I dare ya to hawk that one on me,” he growled, leaning down from his imposing height of six-six so they were face-to-face. “’Cuz if ya think I won’t draw my service weapon again and actually shootcha this Time–even if it’s just in the kneecap–think the fuck again.”

Axl seemed to think twice about spitting on the intimidating man, wisely swallowing the wad he’d just hawked up.

“That’s what I thought,” the Lieutenant growled as he straightened, then slammed the car door.

Moments later, more sirens wailed and screamed into the parking lot, the next emergency vehicle to arrive being the ladder truck of the nearby firehouse. Doors were quickly thrown open, allowing the firefighters to tumble out almost like a litter of hyper puppies as they scurried into action. One face–or rather, hair–he recognized almost instantly was that of Lt. McKagan, a guy he’d actually gotten to know pretty well in the last few Years during their off-Time. It was his unmistakable bleached hair that he barely kept outta his face in a biker’s ponytail that made him so distinguishable from the rest of his crew.

Bellowing out almost as many orders as their Captain, Duff was quick to get his men into the positions they needed to be in so they could start on putting out the blaze. He already knew that there was no saving the Silver Wolf when he’d seen the Smoke billowing from half a mile away as they headed for the scene. Now that he was actually close enough to get a good look, he saw Flames Lighting up the Night as they licked at the Wood.

While the firefighters were starting their part of the job, Lt. Sixx made sure the scene was otherwise secure before allowing the EMTs to invade in spades. Like with Lt. McKagan, one he recognized mostly ’cuz of his long, Dark hair that he kept braided pretty much all the Time when he was working a shift. One wouldn’t know that paramedic Bobby Dall’s hair was wavy–even fresh outta the shower–as much as he kept it braided from working twenty-four-hour shifts, but he did.

“What’ve we got, Lt. Sixx?” the paramedic in question asked, he and his partner dragging a stretcher as close to the burning building as he’d allow.

“Fuck if I know, Bobby,” he sighed. “I’ve been busier with cuffing the idiot that started this shit and securing the scene than I’ve been with cataloging injuries.”

“First up’s this guy.”

Turning slightly, they saw Izzy standing there with a curly-haired blonde everybody in the area knew as Steven Adler.

_“Oooh,_ let’s getcha cleaned up a bit and checked out,” Bobby said, gently steering the apparent victim onto the stretcher since he was looking kinda woozy.

“I’m not gonna ask very many questions yet, but you’re the other party that was involved with the fight that started all this, right?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah,” he answered, nodding slightly. “Damn sum-bitch started going apeshit and pounced like a fuckin’ Tiger, man!”

“Don’t worry about telling me anything else just yet,” the Lieutenant told him. “We’ll worry about getting your full, official statement after you’ve been checked out and either cleared by the paramedics, or taken to the hospital, if they think it’s bad enough.”

Steven didn’t respond with anything but another nod, quickly distracted by whatever cleaning agent was being used on his cuts and scrapes making him wince. “Ow!”

“I know, I know–I’m sorry, man,” the paramedic said sympathetically as the cop walked away. “Just bear with me a bit longer.”

Not really having a choice, the poor guy sat still and let Bobby clean him up enough to really be able to assess his injuries. Aside from a cut that looked like it mighta come from a ring high on his forehead–which was bleeding pretty heavily, as head wounds were known to do–he didn’t seem to be in too bad of shape. It was decided that they’d keep an eye on him for the next few minutes while checking out others who bore injuries before they decided whether to haul him off to the hospital or not.

As Nikki worked his way around what few bystanders there were, Bobby turned his attention to the guy who’d pulled Steven over to them. It didn’t seem like this guy’d sustained any injuries aside from what looked like a burn with a hot Zippo, likely one barely extinguished before it was pressed against his forearm. That slight burn wasn’t anything too bad, but it certainly didn’t feel good when it was cleaned and bandaged for him.

Just as Izzy made to back away so he could try finding Lt. Sixx to find out about bailing his friend outta jail later, Lt. McKagan ran up with another victim cradled in his arms. The guy was all but known as the town drunk, ’cuz everybody for at least a couple miles around knew that Mick Mars practically lived at either the Silver Fox or the other bar at the Wolf Lodge Inn. It wasn’t all that surprising that he didn’t seem to want treatment, which was just as typical as his heavy drinking, but the fireman still settled him on the stretcher next to the blonde. All it took to shut him up was a stern look and something about next Time, he’d just leave him in a building to burn to Death instead of nearly breaking his neck trying to get him out.

Duff turned to head back to his crew, knowing damn good and well it’d be hours yet before they got the blaze completely contained. The Silver Fox was one of the oldest buildings in town, built with a ton of Wood and other highly-flammable materials that–once they caught–burned for hours. All the alcohol in the building no doubt helped to fuel that Fire, and that meant it wouldn’t be an easy one to put out in the slightest. He’d certainly responded to his fair share of bad calls back in his hometown of Seattle, but this was actually one of the worst he’d ever responded to, for being in such a small town.

“No one else inside, right?” Nikki asked him as they met up.

“Not a Soul,” he answered, shaking his head. “If there’s anyone else in there–well, let’s just say we’ll be vacuuming them up along with all the other ash.”

“What a fuckin’ way to go,” the cop sighed as he shook his own head.

“You’re telling me,” Duff agreed. “I’ve seen this kinda thing happen one too many Times for my liking.”

“Comes with the territory of the big City, huh?” he chuckled. They’d gotten to know one another well enough for him to know where he was from.

“Unfortunately,” the fireman answered. “Lemme get back to my crew so we can get this thing put out.”

“Ten-four, good buddy,” Nikki laughed. “Maybe I’ll getcha over to the house for a drink once all the paperwork’s finished up on both our Ends.”

“Sounds good, man!” he chuckled. “At least _we_ know how to be responsible with our alcohol!”

Waving him off, the cop made his way back to his patrol car, where Axl was still fuming in the back seat as he awaited transport down to the station. From what he’d been able to gather so far, the idiot’d gotten pissed at Steven over hell-only-knew what, dumped his drink on him, and tried to set the blonde on Fire. Izzy’d stepped in to stop him, which’d resulted in a nifty burn on his forearm from hitting his Zippo, but it’d been just a hair too late to stop anything worse.

Steven’d managed to get outta the plaid button-up he’d been wearing before he could be burned, but throwing it on the floor’d been the source of the Fire. After all, it’d landed in the remains of the ginger’s drink that’d been puddled at his feet, which’d quickly ignited and started the blaze Lt. McKagan’s crew was currently battling with everything in them and at their disposal.

Even though it technically hadn’t been an arson Fire, the Lieutenant thought he might actually be able to get arson chargesta stick, considering Axl’s history. He’d been suspected in numerous other Fires for the last few Years, ranging from public trash cans up to storage sheds going up in Smoke. It might not be easy to get arson chargesta stick for even this Fire, but there was one thing leaning in the cop’s favor tonight. Whether he’d meant to set the Silver Fox ablaze or not, he’d still assaulted a man and technically assaulted his own friend, and he could definitely get at least _one_ count of that to stick. There were simply too many witnesses who all told more or less the same story thus far for him to even try denying that part.

Not even bothering to say anything to him, Nikki settled in the driver’s seat and killed his emergency Lights so he could head back to the station. Getting this idiot booked and thrown in a cell was his top priority right now, and he was gonna recommend that he _not_ get bail. It’d ultimately be the judge’s decision whether he did or didn’t, but considering all the trouble he was known for causing, his recommendation might actually be heard this Time. And once he was sure this bastard was gonna be locked away for a while, he was gonna go home and have at least a couple shots since his shift’d already Ended an hour ago.


	3. Two

It was roughly four hours after leaving the scene of the Fire that Nikki finally pulled into the driveway of the lil cabin he’d bought on the Shore of Beauty Bay, one of the offshoots of Wolf Lodge Bay. Nestled on the top of the highest Mountain overlooking said offshoot at the End of South Albion Road, it was perfectly secluded and hard to get to. The few neighbors surrounding him–mostly further up the same road–barely knew he even lived there, let alone when he was actually home. While they rarely bothered him, they also kept watch over his place alongside their own, making sure no trouble got started, whether he was at work or asleep for another brutal shift.

A heavy sigh filled his foyer as he closed the front door behind him, his exhausted expression quickly turning to one of Happiness. His big ol’ German Shepherd, Whiskey, trotted up to him with a soft bark of greeting just like he always did when he got home, tail already going crazy. Even though one of his neighbors’d a key to come let the Dog out for him, said Dog was always happy when his master came back home to him alive instead of in a Pine box.

Nikki knelt down to hug and pet the lovable bastard that often drove him nuts in a good way, then rose to go check his food and Water bowl. The neighbor who let him out was generally pretty good about making sure he’d food and Water, too, but if she was in a rush for some reason, she’d sometimes forget. Luckily, today wasn’t one of the Days where she forgot, so he turned to head upstairs as a soft chuckle rumbled up from the depths of his chest. He was ready to get outta the monkey suit he called his uniform, collapse on the couch, and drink himself utterly silly after that last call and having to deal with Axl, too.

Just as he was heading back down the stairs after a nearly-scalding shower, the Lieutenant heard a knock at his front door. Whiskey was quick to be a bit of a redneck security system, his loud and deep bark echoing through the cabin as he responded to whoever was knocking the only way he could. Quickly shushing the Dog, he peeked out the sidelight next to the door, opening it when he saw who was standing on the porch.

“I see ya decided to take me up on that drink!” he laughed, holding his Dog back by the collar.

“Yeah, I could use one after that call at the Silver Fox,” Duff chuckled, stepping in once he was bade to. “Hope ya don’t mind me practically dragging Bobby with me.”

“The more, the merrier–ya know that,” the cop told him. “I just hope he ain’t terrified of Dogs or anything.”

“Eh, I prefer Cats, but I can deal with Dogs,” Bobby said with a shrug. “Long as he doesn’t jump on me, that is.”

“Not unless you’re sitting on the couch, man,” Nikki responded, letting go of Whiskey’s collar once the door was closed. “I’ve him trained so the only one he even remotely triesta knock down is me, and that’s just ’cuz I’m so tall that he usually can’t.”

“So I’ve noticed,” the paramedic chuckled, kneeling down to let the Dog sniff his hand and catch his scent.

“Gotta say, I’m glad I’ve the next week off,” the fireman groaned as he flopped down on the couch. “I work one more double, and I might just quit and live off the Land, damn it.”

“Yikes, dude.” He couldn’t help a wince as he headed for his kitchen, knowing those at the firehouse usually worked twenty-four-hour shifts. “Why on Earth’re ya working doubles?”

“Got some damned probie that keeps coming up with every excuse he can not to come in,” Duff answered. “Somebody else’s gotta fill in for anyone that calls out, and it’s usually me since I’ve made it to Lieutenant.”

“I figured they’d call in another volunteer before they’d call you in to cover somebody,” the cop mused.

“Ha, _what_ fuckin’ volunteer?” he laughed, a wry tone to his voice. “Nobody’s signed on as that since I moved here four Years ago!”

“Wait, you’ve only been here for four Years?” This question was asked by Bobby, who rose from petting Whiskey to join him on the couch.

Nodding, the fireman told him that he was really from the next State over, closer to the actual Coast than the State line with Idaho. All he’d say about his reason for moving was that he’d wanted to bring Honor to his family name, but couldn’t do it in his hometown ’cuz of his dad. The cop in the kitchen knew that wasn’t all of it, but if he hadn’t really made friends with the last man, he knew damn good and well he wouldn’t tell him what his other reasons were just yet.

The Truth was that, like himself, Duff was a born-Witch and gay as much as he was himself, and those things’d a lot to do with his move. It was mostly the fact that he was gay, and–progressive though Seattle seemed compared to some other places–hardly anyone accepted him. Moving to such a small town coulda backfired on him in that Respect, but he’d managed to keep that facet of himself on the down-low since his move.

Bobby nodded as the cop rejoined them with three different bottles of liquor, his eyes widening when he watched the fireman nab the bottle of vodka as soon as it was settled on the coffee table. Said cop couldn’t help a cackle as he claimed the bottle of Jack Daniel’s, which was his preferred hard liquor–and left the last man with the bottle of Jim Beam he’d pulled outta his stash. He told him that he’d other liquors stashed away since he never knew when he’d wind up getting Snowed in up here–or rather, when the liquor store wouldn’t be able to open due to inclimate Weather–so he could always grab him something else. Waving off the offer with a smile, he told him that he actually preferred the Kentucky bourbon over most anything else, so he was fine with this.

Each of them compared stories of their last call the Night previous, something Nikki encouraged when he and the fireman wound up responding to the same call. As a cop, he knew the value of getting all sortsa different perspectives–even from his coworkers–’cuz one of them mighta witnessed something an average citizen might not’ve. They’d training that’d make them look for things others’d be obliviousta, so maybe these two’d seen, smelt, or heard something that’d help him build a case that’d leave Axl in the State penitentiary, not just the county jail for the rest of his Life.

“Honestly, it looked like some kinda accelerant was used to me,” Duff said after swallowing a swig of his vodka.

“Well, several of the witnesses _did_ say that Axl threw his drink on Steven before he tried to light him up,” the cop pointed out.

“Which Izzy’s burn provesta me well enough,” Bobby chimed in, swigging his bourbon. “Izzy swore he tried to stop Axl by wrapping his arms around him from behind, and he’d a burn on his forearm that’d certainly suggest he did such a thing.”

“No, I meant that differently,” the fireman said, huffing as he shoved his hair outta his face.

“Whaddaya mean?” Nikki asked, a brow cocked curiously as he raised his own bottle for another swig.

“I mean, it almost looked more like somebody dumped gas in the place before opening tonight,” he answered, his own brow furrowing in Thought. “Captain didn’t believe me when I told him, but that burn pattern I saw once we got the blaze out didn’t match up with just a drink dumped on someone, or otherwise spilled on the floor.”

“So, you’re saying that someone _Intended_ for the Silver Fox to go up in Flames tonight?” the paramedic asked, sounding half-incredulous.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” Duff answered, nodding. “And I hate to say that since there’s only a handful of reasons why somebody’d do that.”

“Murder, if they Intended to kill someone that was gonna be inside tonight,” the cop said. “Insurance fraud, if they Intended it to look like an accidental Fire when they made the claim with their insurance company–which could very well be the case, given the owner of the place.”

Bobby cocked his brow curiously, but didn’t actually ask as he swigged his bourbon again.

“Oh, trust me–I’ve had nearly as many run-ins with Vince Neil as I’ve had with Axl Rose,” Nikki chuckled. “Dude’s been dying to go back home to California, but he hasn’t been able to save up the money since the bar hasn’t been doing as good lately.”

“And if he’s _that_ desperate to go back down South, that’d definitely be potential for a case of insurance fraud,” the fireman agreed. “So would trying to kill Axl, as lil as they like each other, if he’d known he was gonna be there tonight.”

All three of them couldn’t help rolling their eyes as they each took another swig from the bottles they held, none of them really that surprised by the possibilities. Since they didn’t wanna give themselves worse headaches than they were bound to wake up with in the Morn, the subject was soon Changed to just about anything else that popped into their frazzled, exhausted brains.

Once he got enough of the bourbon in him, the paramedic actually started opening up about his Past before moving to Idaho on his own. Nikki was both surprised and not when he said that his biggest reason from moving clear across the country from not only his hometown, but his home State was ’cuz he was as queer as a three dollar bill, so to speak. He’d known a few different guys who simply preferred having long hair, but quite a few were actually as gay as it got–not that he could judge them since he was, too. The ones that were hard to tell with were the ones who weren’t what he’d call a _flamer,_ but certainly loved having long hair and often had a snazzy sense of fashion.

Before long, even a quarter-bottle of liquor apiece’d the trio of first responders damn near ready to hit the deck just from trying to get up for a potty break. It wasn’t that they couldn’t hold their liquor by any means–they were just _that_ exhausted after working at least a twelve-hour shift. Well, Duff and Bobby’d worked the equivalent of that, more or less, considering that they didn’t spend their _whole_ twenty-four hours on out at Fires and other assorted emergencies.

Typical of any cop–even a drunk one–Nikki refused to let the pair leave his cabin in their current states, knowing full well they’d never make it down the Mountain, let alone home. He’d purposely bought a three-bed, two-bath cabin when he’d moved from Jerome since he didn’t know if he’d ever make any friends he wanted to invite over, or even find a significant other. What with two spare bedrooms upstairs, he made it clear that they could sleep wherever they wanted–including up on the roof–but they weren’t leaving drunk. Bobby and Duff couldn’t argue that point, and all three bid their good-Nights before heading upstairsta get some sleep.

* * *

The next afternoon, the cop was the first one up since Whiskey’d jumped on his bed and woken him by practically trying to lick his face off. It was his typical sign that he needed to go out, so he was kinda forced to get up, even though he damn well didn’t wanna. Not even twelve straight hours of hard, deep sleep was enough for him to wanna get up and be functional yet after his last shift, crazy as it’d been. Aside from the Fire he’d responded to at the Silver Fox, he’d to respond to a few different neighborly disputes, one of which’d involved one man trying to blow out another’s kneecap–with a young child right behind his Intended target.

But once he was up and had stumbled down the stairs to let his Dog out the back door, he knew he wasn’t gonna get back to sleep anytime soon. If it wasn’t that he normally couldn’t go back to sleep once he was physically conscious, it was from the slight headache he’d woken up with. No doubt that was from drinking without having any Water before he went to bed, but a dose of Excedrin and some coffee’d take care of that with a quickness. Given that he was sure his guests’d be thinking the same thing, he went ahead and set out a couple doses for them, too, knowing Whiskey wouldn’t be able to reach the countertop once he let him back in since he was well-trained and wouldn’t jump up.

It wasn’t long before Nikki was able to make out soft rustling from upstairs, and moments after he caught that Sound, he heard once of the guest room doors open. He wasn’t quite sure which of his guests’d decided to rouse themselves, ’cuz all of them were surprisingly quiet for three guys who stomped around in heavy work boots more often than they didn’t.

He turned from pouring coffee when he heard those soft footsteps enter the kitchen behind him to see that it was Bobby who’d joined him. The poor guy looked a lil worse for wear as he stretched his arms over his head, then flashed him a quick wave as he shoved his wild hair outta his face. Gesturing to the mostly-full coffee pot, the cop headed over to call his Dog back in so he could feed him, and the paramedic seemed grateful. Luckily, he seemed to notice the Excedrin laid out on the counter without him having to point it out, ’cuz he was tossing two of the pills into his mouth when he turned back around.

“Duff up yet?” he asked, his voice sounding deeper than it normally did since he’d just woken up.

“Not yet, I don’t think,” Nikki answered as he filled Whiskey’s bowl. “I just heard rustling a couple minutes before you came down, so I think he’s still asleep.”

“Fuck me,” the paramedic groaned. “Guess I’m stuck here without any smokes till he rouses himself.”

“Or ya can have one of mine,” he chuckled, tossing him one from his own pack. “Although, I’ll admit that I’ma bit surprised a Healthcare worker’d wanna do something like smoke.”

“Dude, get called out to a car wreck or a shooting where you’re trying to save a small child that ultimately dies in your arms, then tell me ya wouldn’t wanna drink and smoke your Life away,” Bobby said with an eye-roll.

The cop couldn’t help a wince as they settled at the peninsula counter on a pair of bar stools.

“’Cuz I’m not saying even _your_ job isn’t tough,” he told him, wanting to be clear about that. “But some parts’re harder than others.”

“Oh, I get that,” Nikki agreed with a nod before sipping his coffee. “Hell, only a couple hours before that last call, I was breaking up a dispute between two feuding neighbors that Ended with a kid accidentally getting shot, too.”

“Fuck a Duck,” the paramedic winced, not even wanting to imagine having to witness that. “I dunno how ya do it, man.”

“Same way _you_ manage to see more Death than I do, yet still carry on living,” he responded with a shrug that wasn’t quite as nonchalant as he’d been hoping for. “It’s just in my blood, in a couple different ways.”

Bobby couldn’t help cocking a brow at him as he sipped his own mug, wondering what he was talking about as they finally heard more rustling from upstairs. He’d become familiar with the cop’s name ever since he’d moved to this small town, but other than that and his profession, he didn’t really know anything about him. Then again, as a firefighter-slash-EMT who did more of the EMT side of the job than not, he wasn’t too surprised that he knew Duff better. After all, they were both more or less employed at the same place, and both spent much of their Time at the firehouse due to their twenty-four-hour shifts.

Still, he was surprised when Nikki chuckled, even though he looked like he was debating something–maybe how much he wanted to tell him. Even as the fireman finally joined them in the kitchen, he seemed to make up his mind and took a deep breath so he could answer his unasked question. It didn’t seem like he trusted very many people–and with good reason, considering the Nature of his work–but that he was about to trust him.

The paramedic was still even more surprised when he admitted that he’d chosen to go into law enforcement for a reason he’d no Control over. Few outside his family–which’d consisted Primarily of his grandparents before their untimely Deaths–knew that he was actually born a Witch. The few who _did_ know didn’t really accept that facet of him, but there were a couple who _did_ accept it that he’d lost touch with after his move. He went on to say that it was his Primary Element that’d made him choose his particular profession over anything else.

“After all, Fire Witches tend to have an insanely-strong Code of Honor, Ethics, and Morality,” the cop told him. “And they tend to be damn good with numbers, too–I’ve just never been as interested in arithmetic or science, so I didn’t pick those fields.”

“Not to mention Fire Witches’re usually just as active as Water Witches,” Bobby said thoughtfully. “So, being in a profession where you’re constantly on the move suits ya.”

He cocked a brow at him curiously as he killed off his coffee, Duff finally claiming the third bar stool to knock back his own dose of Excedrin.

“I’ma Water Witch myself, so I know how active they are,” the paramedic chuckled. “But law enforcement didn’t suit me as well since I tend to lean toward the more caring and Emotional side of humanity.”

“But Healthcare–even being a paramedic–suits _you_ just as well as law enforcement suits me,” Nikki mused, starting to get it. “At least our cases aren’t as confusing as Duff’s.”

“Whaddaya mean?” he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

“Dude, ya didn’t know I’m an Air Witch?” the fireman countered with a laugh of his own.

“Wait, seriously?” Bobby asked, looking surprised once again.

“Yeah, seriously–born into it just like Nikki was,” he answered with a grin.

“That makes no sense then, given your choice profession,” the paramedic said, looking confused again.

“You’re right, since Air Witches’re known for hating tight Spaces–which I _do_ since I’m claustrophobic–and even the Thought of running outta Air,” Duff told him. “But my Secondary Element’s Fire, Nikki’s Secondary being Air, so I figured being able to focus on helping others’d help _me.”_

_“Ahhhh,_ I get it now,” he said with a nod. “Focusing on helping someone else outta a burning building or to get them outta a mangled car allows ya to work on your claustrophobia without freakin’ out too much, even if ya still don’t like it.”

“Exactly,” the fireman agreed. “And in having a Secondary of Fire, of course I’d wanna go into something to do with it since I don’t have quite the Code of Honor, Ethics, and Morality that Nikki does.”

“Which works out, ’cuz we’ve three of the Elements and three different branches of EMS covered between us,” Nikki chuckled, rising to get started on breakfast.

“Well, I can safely say that this might just be the start of a helluva friendship–and I mean that in a good way,” the paramedic laughed.

Neither of the other first responders could disagree with that since his getting to know the cop better essentially sealed off a triangle between them. After all, he’d already gotten to know Duff pretty well, and said blonde’d gotten to know the cop pretty well–it was he and said cop who hadn’t really had a reason to spend any Time together. That went for when they were off-duty as much as when they were on, ’cuz cops and paramedics didn’t work side-by-side as often as cops and firemen, or firemen and paramedics, after all.

Shortly after devouring the food they’d been served, Bobby and said fireman decided it was Time they head home to just chill by themselves. Considering that they’d somehow managed to get an entire week off after pulling several doubles when they shouldn’t have had to, they both agreed to come back later on sometime before they’d all to clock in again. Amazingly enough, Nikki’d gotten the entire week off, too, although he could certainly be called back in at a moment’s notice since he was technically on-call. However, he doubted that’d happen since it wasn’t like this was even Boise, let alone an even bigger City like Seattle, Los Angeles, or Miami and the crime rate didn’t tend to be as high.


	4. Three

During their week off, Bobby and Duff spent as much Time alone as they did together and up on the Mountain at Nikki’s cabin. They wouldn’t have said they were officially dating, especially considering their chosen professions, but damned if it didn’t feel like it sometimes. Both agreed that they could open up more around the other than most other people, and that went for the cop they’d befriended, as well. However, despite some of the shit they did and said when they were hanging out–both at home and at the firehouse–neither’d made any real moves on the other yet.

That started to Change as they hung out with said cop more, though, if only ’cuz the giant of an Italian wasn’t afraid to start mildly flirting with the shorter brunette. Duff’d been trying to work up to doing such a thing with him for months, and he couldn’t help his irritation at his competition starting it practically as soon as they’d really and truly met.

Another thing that irritated and even pissed off the lone blonde was how receptive Bobby seemed to be to even the mildest flirting. He’d seemed uncomfortable around pretty much everyone else, but then again, that mighta been due to the tones used by a lotta the other firefighters and paramedics. Every Time one of them opened their mouths and flirted with either of them, there was more of a derogatory note to their voices than not. It sounded like they knew they were gay and trying to tell them that they weren’t having any of that shit in their firehouse, like it was actually contagious. Maybe if that was the case, that’d explain why he was being so receptive to the cop flirting with him, ’cuz he expected more of the bullshit from another fireman.

Still, he felt the need to know, so he waited till one of those Days when they were hanging out together, Nikki at his cabin for some alone Time and to get some shit done around the place. He was understandably nervous since everyone thought he was straight till he actually admitted that he wasn’t, and therefore might come off the wrong way at first. Maybe this short lil chat’d go easier than he’d expected, but then again, it might not go anywhere near according to even the slightest plan he’d made in his head.

“Hey, Bobby–I wanted to talk to ya about something,” the fireman said, both lounging in his living room with a beer in hand.

“Go ahead and shoot, man,” Bobby told him as he raised his bottle to his mouth.

“Well, I was curious about why ya were so quick to warm up to Nikki, even when he was flirting with ya,” he told him, not in the mood to mince words. Then again, that was pretty typical of both Air and Fire Witches, so he wasn’t surprised.

The paramedic spluttered for a moment, coughing up the swig he’d partially inhaled when he’d gasped. “What on…Earth’d make…ya ask…that?”

“’Cuz you’ve never opened up to even me like that,” Duff answered honestly.

“Considering the constant derogatory ribbing at the firehouse, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise,” he grumbled as he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand.

_“Ahhhh,_ I kinda thought so,” the fireman chuckled. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, not that I really am.”

“Wait, whaddaya mean?” Bobby asked, brow furrowed as he looked up at him.

“You’re not the only one in that firehouse who gets treated like that,” he laughed, grinning as he raised his own beer.

“Wait, you’re actually gay?” The paramedic’s eyes widened in obvious surprise.

“Queer as a three-dollar bill, and fuckin’ proud of it,” Duff told him with a snicker. “I’m just one of those guys everybody _thinks_ is straight till I actually say it–or get ballsy-drunk and dive in for a kiss.”

“I dunno how the fuck I didn’t pick up on that,” he mused. “Being a Water Witch, I’m normally more Intuitive than that.”

The fireman couldn’t help another laugh as he killed off his beer and rose to grab both of them another one, ’cuz he definitely found that part a bit amusing. As he Returned to the living room moments later, he wasn’t surprised by Bobby asking if his being gay in his own right tied into his original question. He couldn’t help being a bit nervous, but he still cleared his throat as he handed him the second bottle and reclaimed his seat.

Deciding it was better to just get it over with, he quickly admitted that he’d been attracted to him ever since they’d met in August of 1986. It’d been the paramedic’s first Day on the job after his big move from Miami, and technically the one-month anniversary of his own first Day on the job. He’d been the one to take him under his wing as a fireman since the brunette’d been a firefighter-slash-EMT, and therefore covered both roles almost equally. Ever since then, he’d grown increasingly attracted to him, but knowing what he went through with the rest of their crew’d kinda scared him off.

Pausing for a breath–and to let him process what he’d just told him–Duff fiddled with his beer bottle as he hoped he wasn’t on the verge of scaring him off. If he was seriously interested in Nikki, he’d no doubt turn him down without really hearing him out on anything else, which was the last thing he wanted–talk about a serious case of unrequited Love. Therefore, he was actually surprised to see a smile cross his face when he turned those big, Chocolate eyes back up to him and chuckled softly.

“I won’t deny that I’ve liked _you_ just as much since we met,” Bobby told him. “But since I thoughtcha were straight, I didn’t wanna be stupid and try making a move that coulda gotten me punched.”

“More like attacked with one of the axes we use on calls!” the fireman laughed. “But I know whatcha mean, dude.”

“And honestly, I’ve been taking _Nikki’s_ flirting with a grain of Salt,” he admitted. “I mean, he’s struck me as being just as straight, but he hasn’t seemed derogatory about playfully practicing his pick-up lines and shit like those idiots at the firehouse.”

Duff couldn’t help taking his turn to choke on his beer as he cracked up.

“What?” the paramedic asked, genuinely confused. “What’s so funny about that?”

“Dude, ya really _haven’t_ gotten to know Nikki very well, have ya?” he countered once he could breathe again.

“Well, cops and paramedics don’t tend to work together as often as firefighters and paramedics,” Bobby pointed out.

“Dude’s as gay as we are,” the fireman told him with a grin. “But like us, he’s faced the stigma and prejudice so much, he doesn’t tell just anyone.”

“Makes perfect sense to me,” he agreed with a nod.

“So, Nikki flirting with ya isn’t a joke any more than _me_ doing it’d be,” Duff said. “Which’s gonna make a hot-headed cop and an equally temperamental fireman square off with each other eventually.”

“Well, not necessarily,” the paramedic responded as he raised his beer. “I dunno about the two of ya, but I’ve been into polyamory pretty much since I figured out that I’ve a dick.”

He couldn’t help when his eyes widened, showing off his surprise.

Bobby laughed–careful to actually swallow his beer before he did–as he told him that there was a certain pull to having multiple partners. It didn’t make him feel caged, or like he’d just settled for what he thought was the best when it was actually the worst, so to speak. That kinda relationship allowed him to have certain needs fulfilled by one partner, others fulfilled by another, if the first couldn’t for whatever reason.

Thinking about it like that, the fireman’d to admit that he couldn’t disagree with that one, and there was a big reason why. Even though he was normally the Dominant party in his relationships, he’d been known to have a few more submissive Nights–and play that role through entire relationships, too. If he’d to define himself as any one given thing, he’d have to say that the term _Switch_ fit him better than anything, ’cuz his personality was pretty much the very definition of the word in the BDSM community. Maybe giving polyamory a shot wasn’t the worst of ideas for even him, if it actually worked like his friend swore it did.

Not wanting to think about the possibilities too hard, lest he give himself a headache, Duff decided to try his Luck with some mild flirting of his own. As far as he knew, it wasn’t like the pair of brunettes he’d befriended were in even an unofficial relationship, let alone an official one. Since he’d no Intentions of trying to so much as hold his hand, he didn’t see anything wrong with flirting with him, if he was still single. Besides, if the paramedic wanted him to stop, he knew he was pretty vocal about being fed up with something and wouldn’t hesitate to tell him. He never acted any different toward the rest of the crew when they were at the firehouse, so he didn’t see any reason he’d be such now.

Luck seemed to be on his side this afternoon, though, ’cuz Bobby grinned and flirted right back at him, and he could tell that he wasn’t just teasing him. There seemed to be just as much real potential between them as there seemed to be between the brunettes, and he couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Granted, any kinda relationship involving even one of them–whether monogamous or polyamorous–wouldn’t be easy, but he recognized that nothing ever worth fighting for was ever easily-won.

Following that week off where the cop, fireman, and paramedic spent as much Time together as they did alone, it seemed the Insanity they’d faced before just hadn’t Ended yet. Nikki’s first assignment upon clocking in for his next shift was to patrol the area between Wolf Lodge and the nearby, equally small town of Eddyville. He’d been hoping that things’d Calmed down during his well-deserved Time off as much as Duff and Bobby’d been hoping it had, but he’d been sadly mistaken.

The first call he’d been forced to respond to was yet another neighborly dispute, and one that was a bit too close to home–literally–for his liking. About three-quarters of a mile off Highway Ninety-Seven was the Beauty Creek Campground, which sat adjacent to Beauty Creek. Going by the minimal information given by the caller, there was some dumb fuck waving a rifle around in the campground, families all over the place that could be hurt, if that gun were to go off by accident or–Gods forbid–Intentionally. Such a call was to be taken with the utmost seriousness, which was why he’d pulled up and climbed outta the patrol _truck_ that’d been delivered to the station for him during his week off with his own rifle drawn.

Before he knew it, the idiot’d climbed on a dirt bike and fired it up, even though such machinery technically wasn’t allowed at the campground. Letting out a string of curses he knew he shouldn’t have let out in front of children, the Lieutenant’d unloaded the dirt bike strapped into the bed of his truck. It seemed as though his Chief’d anticipated something like this when he’d given him his assignment upon clocking in this Morn.

Nikki called out for backup and gave his location before he even bothered firing up his dirt bike, knowing he’d be stupid not to call for backup. With his dirt bike running, he kicked it into gear and took off after the idiot, glad his helmet’d a built-in radio so said backup could hear any updates he called out as he gave chase. If it hadn’t, he knew damn good and well they’d be lucky to find him at all once they actually showed up, which could mean the difference between Life and Death for him. But that was just one of the risks he took every Time he clocked in, and it gave him an adrenaline rush like nothing but bungee jumping could.

“On the ground, ya sum-bitch!” he screamed, the suspect having dumped his bike when it apparently ran outta gas, based on its shuddering to Silence.

Naturally, the suspect didn’t bother listening, instead taking off through the Trees on foot.

“Gods damn it,” Nikki growled, reaching up to the radio mic clipped to his shoulder. “Heading South, Southeast along Caribou Creek on foot!”

_“Copy that, Lieutenant,”_ came the response within seconds.

“Be advised–suspect’s still armed with a rifle and considered highly dangerous!” the Lieutenant continued, barely sounding short of breath. “I repeat, suspect’s armed and considered highly dangerous!”

He dropped his hand from his radio, just barely paying attention to any traffic on it as he poured on the speed to catch up with the suspect. One advantage that he had compared to most of his colleagues was his astonishing height of six-six, which made him pretty imposing. When he started running–or even when he was just walking at a leisurely pace–he could cover a lot more ground a lot quicker than most others in the area. That proved to be a good thing right now as he quickly caught up to his man, which was when he used his momentum to hurl himself forward and tackle the bastard.

Sliding across the ground once he’d slammed into the man, Nikki was quick to pin him on his front and drag his arms behind his back, the suspect’s weapon flying further ahead. Even if it hadn’t been well outta reach now, he wouldn’t have been as worried about it since the guy wasn’t going anywhere with easily two hundred and seventy-five pounds pinning him down.

It didn’t take long for his backup to finally catch up to them, and the first two officersta arrive’d to help pin the suspect down. The bastard was fighting so hard that–even with his imposing height and great strength–the Lieutenant was having trouble keeping him restrained long enough to cuff him. He wasn’t surprised by that, though, ’cuz a lotta suspects were hell-bent on _not_ getting arrested when they decided to even attempt evading police, which happened a lot more often than he’d like to admit.

“What the fuck were ya thinking, man?” he growled, he and his coworkers having dragged the suspect back to the campground and his truck once he’d been cuffed. “There’s kids running around here!”

“Fuck you, asshole!” the suspect snapped, clearly high on something as he hawked one at him.

“Oh, you’re so lucky ya missed,” Nikki said as he rolled his eyes. “You’d need medical help even worse than ya already do, if you’d actually hit me.”

“Well, good thing medical’s here, either way.”

Turning slightly to look over his shoulder, the Lieutenant saw Bobby and his partner coming up with their gear on a stretcher.

“Whatcha got for us, Lieutenant?” the paramedic asked, pretending he hadn’t been getting closer with him as of late.

“Fuck if I know, aside from the fact that he’s obviously high on something,” he answered. “Prolly banged and scraped up pretty good from when I tackled him, too.”

Bobby couldn’t help a snicker at the word _banged_ since it sounded so suggestive, what with knowing he was gay now. “Well, let’s get him on the stretcher, make sure he’s not about to have a heart attack on us or anything.”

“Sounds like a plan to me, or I might be tempted to kick his ass,” Nikki grumbled. “I can’t stand when idiots get to waving guns around with children in the vicinity.”

“I know the feeling, man,” he agreed as he cut the suspect’s shirt off so he could get him on a monitor.

It Ended up taking both paramedics and three of the cops that were on-scene to get the suspect strapped down, the guy was so agitated. When he was finally strapped down, the shorter brunette was able to finally get his vitals, but being able to complete such an important part of his job came at a price. Barely able to avoid worse, he wound up getting bitten by the intoxicated, agitated suspect, but thankfully the bite didn’t break skin.

That assault on emergency personnel just added an assault charge to all the others that were gonna be slapped on him as it was. Part of the Lieutenant couldn’t have been happier, ’cuz that’d End up adding up to more Time he’d spend behind bars, and that was just one part of being a cop that he loved. However, there was another part of him that didn’t like seeing his colleagues–whether he was interested in them Romantically or not–get hurt when they were just trying to do their jobs. It was that part of him that was even more determined to see this idiot locked up for a good, long while more so than any other.

At the nearest ER just up the road in Coeur D’Alene, Bobby was more than glad to turn the suspect-turned-patient over to the ER team. He wasn’t too thrilled about having to get checked out himself, but he knew it was protocol, despite the bite not breaking skin. Nikki being in the vicinity since that was technically part of his job right now as actually more Comforting than he’d admit aloud right now, and another big reason he didn’t try to fight protocol.

Cleared to go back to work for the Day, the paramedic was sent on his way without even being admitted for treatment. Still, the ER attending told him that he’d call with his test results since he’d wanted to run some blood work just to be sure that bite hadn’t somehow managed to transmit anything to him. After a call like that, though, he just hoped that things Calmed down–and soon–before he started drinking constantly, even when he knew he’d a shift the next Day. That was really the only part of his job besides losing a patient that he could truly say he hated, and pretty much any other first responder’d agree with him. Otherwise, he knew he coulda picked far worse–such as being a teacher–for a career back when he was still living in Miami.


	5. Four

_December, 1990_

Over the next three months, the trio of first responders grew even closer to one another than they’d ever been with anyone else, save maybe their families. In fact, it hadn’t taken Nikki and Duff long to agree to giving this polyamory thing a shot, if only for the sake of the younger, shorter brunette. They were both one of the Dominant parties in their simple, yet complicated relationship, but it almost felt like there was something missing for the lone blonde.

As he sat in his own cabin a lil over a thousand feet from I-ninety and over the Hill from another offshoot called Blue Creek Bay, he started to think he might know why. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Bobby that he was a Switch with more Dominant tendencies, and it’d been a while since he’d willingly submitted to anyone. When his last Dominant partner’d abused his Trust and hadn’t wanted to play by the rules they’d originally agreed to, he’d been quick to break things off. Such an experience’d left him a bit scarred, so he’d always made sure _he_ was the Dominant one in the six or seven Years that’d elapsed since. Granted, there weren’t many relationships–or even one-Night stands–of which to speak for him, but that was beside the point.

Duff was starting to think that he’d simply deprived the submissive side of his Nature for too long, and it was starting to rear its head at him. One wasn’t to get him wrong, though–he loved the paramedic to Death and beyond, and he loved to Dominate him, but there were Times when he needed to _be_ Dominated. However, there was only one person he could think of to even consider asking for such a thing, which was embarrassing.

Still, he knew this issue wasn’t gonna take care of itself, so he finally decided to dredge up the Courage to at least attempt doing something about it. On one of the Days off that he knew the younger, shorter brunette Intended to stay home for some alone Time, he climbed in his truck to head over to Nikki’s. All he could think on the fairly short drive down the twisting, winding roads was that he’d at least hear him out without arguing as much as he’d heard out their now-joint boyfriend. Even if he wouldn’t actually do anything to help him, at least he’d have a sounding board, of sorts that he knew he could trust.

“Hey, man,” the cop said as he opened his door and saw who’d decided to pay him a visit. “Didn’t think I’d be seeing either of ya today.”

“Yeah, sorry to show up unannounced,” Duff said, chuckling nervously. “Mind if I come in?”

“C’mon in,” he told him, gesturing as he stepped back and pulled the door open wider.

Nodding his thanks, the fireman stepped into the cabin, taking a deep breath to quell his urge to fidget as he closed the door behind him again.

“So, what brings ya over to this humble abode?” Nikki asked curiously. “Just didn’t wanna be alone, even though Bobby said he needed some Time to himself to just recharge?”

“Actually, I’d something on my mind that’s kinda been eating at me for a while that I wanted to talk to ya about,” he answered as he turned slightly to face him.

Sensing the fireman’s sudden Anxiety almost like a Bloodhound, the cop cocked a brow curiously as he headed into the kitchen. He was a bit surprised when he stopped him from pulling a couple beers outta the fridge, if only ’cuz he knew damn good and well he wasn’t straight-edge. With a slight shrug, he settled for Pepsi instead, figuring his guest’d a reason for turning down alcohol for once–and that he was soon to find out what that reason was.

After their drinks’d been cracked open since he’d opted for cans this Time, Duff settled in the living room with the cop who was taller than even he was. Topping out at six-three, he was used to being the tallest person in any social group he wound up being a part of, including his family. Knowing there was someone who was able to see over even his head, even by three inches, was a bit Awe-Inspiring for him.

Nikki cocked a brow as he sipped his drink, then asked him what he’d wanted to talk about that’d bring him over on one of his precious few Days off. If there was one thing being a cop’d taught him, it was how to be patient when he asked a question, even when he wanted an answer without the slightest hesitation. He could wait out the blonde’s Silence for as long as he needed to, rather than push him to talk before he was ready–which could be more detrimental than most realized. But having a need for such Patience didn’t mean he’d to like it, even if he showed no signs in his expression or body language, either one.

“Before we actually get into this, I just wanna say one thing,” the fireman told him. “I’m not saying you’ve to go anything to actually help me out here–just _hear_ me out.”

“Ya know I’ma do everything I can to help a friend in need,” he responded, brow furrowing.

“I know, I know,” Duff agreed. “But I also know this might be crossing a line with ya as it is, which’s why I just wantcha to hear me out, if nothing else.”

“All right, fair enough,” the cop agreed with a nod. “So, what’s gotcha so nervous it nearly seems like one of those panic attacks ya told me about is gonna start?”

He took a deep, Calming breath to steady his nerves before saying anything else. “Well, I think I figured out why it feels like something’s missing between me and Bobby.”

“Really?” Nikki now looked a bit surprised. “’Cuz I remember ya telling me thatcha felt that way.”

“Yeah, really,” the fireman answered with a nod of his own. “Don’t get me wrong–I love him to Death and beyond just like you do, but this is something he’s not gonna be able to help me with.”

He was beyond curious and _wanted_ to get pushy so he’d just cut to the chase, but he could tell that doing that was gonna be a _really_ bad idea.

“I’ve always been more of a Switch than not,” Duff continued. “Usually leaning more toward the Dominant side, but still a Switch all the same.”

_“Ahhhh.”_ The cop nodded as he started to get it. “And now your subbie side’s starting to want attention, butcha know Bobby’s not gonna be able to do anything about that since _he’s_ a total submissive in his own right.”

“Exactly,” he agreed. “But with _you_ being a total _Dominant_ and pretty much the only other person I trust with that kinda shit…”

“Look, I’ma make it clear to ya right now,” Nikki told him. “If it’s sex you’re looking for right now, not gonna happen.”

The fireman cocked a brow at him curiously.

“If I won’t sleep with Bobby just yet, I’m not sleeping with _you_ right off the bat, either,” he chuckled.

“Fair enough,” Duff agreed, nodding again as he sipped his drink.

“Now, being into BDSM, I don’t mind helping ya out by having scenes,” the cop continued, noticing how his eyes seemed to positively Light up.

He told him that he’d been mildly into the Lifestyle when he lived in Seattle, but the same thing that’d made him ensure he was the Dominant party in his relationships for the last few Years’d been what’d made him get outta said Lifestyle, too. There was still a chance he’d get back into it one Day, but he hadn’t found anyone he trusted to that extent since, and he wasn’t about to lead another guy on. In BDSM, leading someone on could get him hurt or killed, not just heartbroken, considering how dangerous a lotta forms of play could be.

Nikki nodded as he told him that he’d been smart to do that, ’cuz not all Lifestylers were like him–bitches and assholes, but _ethical_ bitches and assholes at the End of the Day. While he’d string him up in a way that wasn’t gonna cost him Life or limb and beat him utterly silly, if that’s what he wanted, another Dominant might not be so ethical about it.

The fireman shivered as he remembered a couple friends who’d started playing with someone, only to wind up heroin addicts as a result of playing with the wrong people. He told him that he’d seen those assholes shoot his friends up once they were in a vulnerable enough state, and it was all downhill from there. In fact, he’d wound up answering a couple calls that Ended with his friends dying in his arms from an overdose, which’d actually made him consider getting into another profession there for a while. He’d managed to overcome that desire, though, but moving on after such an experience certainly hadn’t been an easy thing for him to do, considering the circumstances.

Both agreed that at least giving the BDSM angle a shot could be a good thing for working up to anything truly intimate between them. Then again, even if they never slept together, at least Duff’d be getting Dominated in a way that he liked and would help quiet that side of his personality. From there, they’d decide what to do about things between them, but agreed to focus on their relationship with Bobby in the meantime. Neither wanted to neglect the younger, shorter brunette by trying to tackle too much all at once, so this was really the best decision they could make for the moment.

Later that week, when their plans for a disguised date Night for all three of them got wrecked by Bobby getting called in to cover another EMR who’d called out, the cop and fireman weren’t quite sure what they wanted to do. Their joint boyfriend assured them that he wouldn’t get pissed, if they decided to still go out to dinner without him, considering that they’d all been looking forward to it all week. Just ’cuz he couldn’t join them, after all didn’t mean they shouldn’t still use the reservation the taller, older brunette’d made for them.

Eventually, he and Duff decided to just go ahead and make use of the reservation, even though neither of them really liked that idea. They’d planned on going to dinner in Spokane so nobody from around town’d recognize them and figure out they were actually gay, rather than just coworkers who’d met up outside work. It mighta meant a longer drive, but a longer drive’d be worth keeping their–whatever this was Secret, preferably forever. What they weren’t expecting, though, was the surprise they ran into–quite literally–on their way back to Wolf Lodge after they’d enjoyed their dinner.

It didn’t take the fireman more than two secondsta spot something up ahead of them as they were nearing Coeur D’Alene that wasn’t right. Squinting as he shoved his hair back and peered ahead, he finally made out what looked like an overturned tanker, and he suddenly got a really nasty feeling. He reached over and smacked his would-be boyfriend’s chest, forcing him to slow down and shoulder his truck before they got too close.

“This thing actually tap into our typical radio system?” he asked, grabbing the mic for the radio mounted under the dash.

“Yeah, ’cuz I never know when I’ma run up on something where I’ma need backup when I’m off-duty,” Nikki answered. “Why–this bad enough to need that backup?”

“Kill your Lights, and I’ll know for sure,” the fireman told him.

Unsure of why he’d want him to kill his headlights, he reached up to the Control stick and clicked the knob till they were in unadulterated Darkness.

“Oh, fuck me up the ass,” Duff breathed, his eyes widening at what suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Where the hell’d _that_ just come from?” the cop asked, his own eyes widening as he took in the Flames that hadn’t been there seconds ago.

Reaching down to turn the radio on, he waited till the traffic on it died down so others’d hear him when he hit the mic’s button. “This is Lt. McKagan with Station Five outta Wolf Lodge,” he said, barely waiting for a response.

_“Lt. McKagan?”_ the dispatcher said, sounding surprised. _“I thought tonight was your Night off?”_

“It is, but I happened to be out with a friend,” the fireman answered. “We were on our way back from Spokane when we came up on an overturned tanker.”

_“What’s your position, Lt. McKagan?”_

“Between mile-marker eleven and the rest stop, East-bound lanes,” Duff answered. “Easily a two- or three-alarm ethanol Fire, so we’re gonna need a ton of foam for this one,” he answered.

_“Fuck, that’s a bad one,”_ the dispatcher told him. _“Any way ya can get to any victims?”_

“Haven’t tried just yet, but prolly not,” he said. “These things’ll melt asphalt, so I made my friend stop a good ways back before he got his truck marred up.”

_“Good call, Lieutenant. Listen, try to get as close as ya can, but for the Love of God,_ be safe,” he was told. _“If ya can’t get close enough to get to any victims, just wait for backup.”_

“Ten-four, Melissa,” the fireman affirmed before hanging the mic back on its hook.

“Damn, I’m glad I’ve emergency Lights I can use when I’m off-duty on this thing,” Nikki chuckled, reaching up through his window to affix something to his roof.

Kicking his truck into _Reverse,_ he used his mirrors like a trucker to guide himself back another half-mile before swinging himself around so he could block any traffic that came from the Direction of Spokane. Already in first responder mode, the fireman jumped outta the truck and slammed the door so he could take off back in the Direction they’d just come from.

He knew he’d to be extremely careful as he approached the Fire that’d be invisible with any kinda Lights shined on it. Even full turn-out gear wouldn’t offer much protection against this monster, something he’d found out the hard way when he’d responded to an identical call back in Seattle. These things were simply too hot since they were fueled by ethanol, which a lotta folks knew as ethyl alcohol, if they knew even the slightest bit of the science End of this shit. Basically, it was like a more massive, smokeless, and nearly invisible version of the Silver Fox Fire all over again, if one wanted to keep it short and sweet.

Duff couldn’t get more than an eighth of a mile away from the wreckage without his turn-out gear, the Fire was already burning so hot. He was forced to retreat, whether there was a living victim or not, which was something the firefighter and first responder in him _didn’t_ like. Turning to head back to his would-be boyfriend, he saw the cop running toward him and motioned for him to get back since he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear him clearly from this distance.

“How close didja manage to get?” Nikki asked once they’d met up enough to hear each other.

“Eighth of a mile,” the fireman answered, coughing harshly. “Fuck, that was too close without a respirator!”

“Ya all right?” he asked, grabbing him before he could fall when he seemed to wobble.

“Gotta…get me…outta here,” Duff managed, already feeling his chest seizing up. “Asthma…”

“Fuck,” the cop growled, picking him up bridal-style. No matter how embarrassing it was for him, it’d be quicker–not to mention avoid irritating his asthma any worse–than trying to help him run the rest of the way back to the truck. “Hit the mic button on my shoulder for me!”

In the perfect position to do so, he did as requested since his hands were obviously full.

“This is Lt. Sixx, Wolf Lodge Police,” the cop said. “Get me medical out to that ethanol Fire yesterday! Dunno how many, if any victims involved in the wreck–couldn’t get close enough–but we’ve a case of asthma that needs treatment!”

_“Ten-four, Lt. Sixx,”_ Melissa answered. _“Fire and EMS’re en route to your position.”_

“I’ve blocked the East-bound lanes about half a mile from the rest stop ramp, but get somebody on blocking the West-bound lanes on the other side of exit eleven,” Nikki continued, finally coming up on his truck.

_“Copy that, Lieutenant,”_ she responded.

_“Ya said the Eastern side of exit eleven, correct?”_

Vaguely recognizing the voice as one of the newer officers, he knew it was one of his _actual_ coworkers. “Ten-four,” he answered once he could get to his radio again, Duff now settled in his passenger’s seat. “Nobody gets on going West-bound at that exit, and nobody continues, if they’re already on I-ninety.”

_“Ten-four, Lieutenant_ – _consider me blocking that spot,”_ his underling answered.

“By the way, who am I talking to so I know who to call out to, if I needja again?” the cop asked.

_“Officer Ream,”_ came the chuckled response. _“We’ve been partnered a couple Times since my hire, so I doubted you’d recognize my voice yet.”_

Nikki laughed as he told him that it’d sounded familiar, but he was spacing on the name it went with since he was focused on calling out the correct info. As he tried to assess the fireman gasping in his passenger’s seat, he left the airwaves open for other traffic to get through, keeping a close ear on what he heard. From the sound of it, things weren’t looking very good, and even the Fire crew that was en route wasn’t thinking this could do anything but go totally sideways.

Duff focused on trying to take deeper breaths, knowing that freakin’ out’d do nothing but worsen his asthma attack. Adding a panic attack to that certainly wouldn’t help, and without his inhaler since he’d forgotten it at home or at least an albuterol treatment, he was gonna be royally fucked. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to hear sirens screaming and wailing in the distance, and they were glad to see an ambulance come flying up so they were parallel with them in the West-bound lanes. Even if that same set of paramedics wound up treating the driver of the overturned rig, at least he could get help while his own crew was getting started.


	6. Five

Bobby recognized the truck he and his partner rolled up on as easily as he recognized his own, and he was momentarily more than a lil terrified. When he’d gotten called in that Eve, he hadn’t been expecting to see either of his boyfriends till he got home the next Morn. Rolling up on them so close to such a serious accident was definitely the last thing he’d expected, and he already knew who’d the case of asthma that needed treatment as he and said partner climbed out to start getting their supplies.

Nikki seemed like he was just barely keeping Calm so he could try to help the lone blonde of their group till the rest of them arrived. Despite being a level-headed cop, he was sure that seeing one of his closest friends in trouble was more than a bit unnerving for him–it usually happened to even a Chief, so it was pretty Natural. The fact that said blonde was also prone to panic attacks–especially when he already couldn’t breathe, for whatever reason–no doubt didn’t help that. He’d prolly never dealt with a person having both a panic _and_ asthma attack before, which’d no doubt make him wanna lose his shit that much more since he didn’t know where to even Begin with trying to help.

Climbing over the concrete wall that separated East- and West-bound lanes from each other, Bobby helped his partner get the stretcher over it. Once it was settled, he helped the much shorter man climb over before they started heading for the cop’s personal truck. He didn’t even wait for introductions or said cop to start filling him in before he was unpacking certain supplies he knew they’d need.

His partner, Bruce, seemed more than a lil surprised by his setting up an albuterol treatment before he even approached. Then again, even the cop seemed surprised that he already knew what was wrong without having to ask or be filled in like he’d need on most calls. Still, he ignored their expressions as he moved closer to the passenger’s seat, his movements as slow and cautious as he could make them. Being in the midst of a panic attack at this point, though, Duff was quick to lash out and try to knee him where it hurt–which brought out a side he didn’t normally react with.

“Duff, listen to me,” the paramedic half-growled, moving so he could clamp his legs down on either side of the blonde’s thighs and hold his legs still.

All he could manage was a raspy whimper, his eyes darting like he was searching for an escape route.

“Duff, look me in the eye,” Bobby demanded, sighing as he was forced to use a tactic he woulda rathered he didn’t while on a call.

The fireman looked surprised, then let out a raspy mewl when he felt a hand grab hold of the hair at his nape and pull gently.

“There we go,” he chuckled, forcing him to look at him. “Ya need to lemme work, or you’re gonna _keep_ having trouble breathing.”

Starting to get with it more as that hand provided an anchor for him, Duff managed to nod. “C-Can’t…b-breathe,” he stuttered, which sent him into a coughing fit.

“Don’t try to talk to me just yet,” the paramedic told him. “Just let the albuterol work its magick.”

_“Mmm,”_ he murmured, managing another nod as he started greedily gulping in the Mist produced by the mask now held over his nose and mouth.

“How on Earth didja know what was wrong with him without even being filled in?”

Turning a scathing look on Bruce, he rolled his eyes. “This is the kinda shitcha find out when ya _don’t_ ridicule someone for having long hair, but rather hang out with and get to know them.”

“What’re ya talking about, Rob?” the much-shorter paramedic asked, sounding surprised.

“I mean that Duff and I aren’t just coworkers–we’re actually friends outside work, too,” Bobby snapped. “I’ve gotten to know him well enough that I know shit about him no one else besides prolly his family does–shit that folks like _you_ could stand to know for when we’re on calls, just in case it ever acts up.”

“Like…now,” the fireman managed, having to pull the mask away to cough again.

Nikki stepped in to help their joint boyfriend get him outta his passenger’s seat once he was deemed well enough to be moved. After all, he was a pretty tall guy, and if he was still feeling too weak from lack of sufficient oxygen–well, he could fall on the shorter paramedic and crush him. That was the last thing they needed, considering they didn’t know the condition of the trucker from the overturned tanker, even though they were all pretty sure he was DOA.

Duff settled onto the stretcher, the albuterol treatment killed and replaced with just straight oxygen as he let his shared boyfriend strap him down. He didn’t want the shorter one–who was finally introduced as Bruce–touching him, and since he was awake and relatively coherent, they’d to go by his Wishes. Letting out an annoyed huff, Bruce headed up to the front of the ambulance while the cop and taller paramedic worked together to get said stretcher back over that concrete wall. He was easily two hundred and twenty pounds of solid muscle, so he wasn’t an easy one to move, even without the weight of their gear added to it.

Once he was locked into the back of the ambulance, Bobby climbed in beside him and told the cop to follow them, even if he’d to run up the shoulder of opposing traffic. Said cop nodded, his on-duty relief having shown up to take over blocking traffic while they were treating the fireman’s asthma attack. He knew their shared boyfriend was gonna be worthless as a paramedic for the rest of the Night, which meant he’d clock out early.

At the very same hospital they’d wound up at a few months ago after that suspect’d fled on a dirt bike, the paramedics got the fireman rolled into the ER. They quickly filled in the ER team on his condition, then headed off to fill out their paperwork like they always did after a call. Granted, the younger, shorter brunette made a quick call to his boss and said he was clocking out from there at the hospital. Just as even Nikki’d predicted, he wasn’t in any shape to Return to work tonight, and he readily admitted that it was ’cuz the patient’d been one of his close friends. He admitted nothing about them actually being a couple, if only so he wouldn’t have to answer questions neither of them wanted to.

_“Well, that sucks since we really needed ya on-duty tonight, Bobby,”_ his boss–EMS Chief Eric Reagan–sighed. _“But you’re better off clocking out, if you’re really unable to focus_ – _after all, that could mean the difference between Life and Death on a call.”_

“I know that, sir,” Bobby told him. “Lt. McKagan’s one of my few friends up here, and when I get worried about a friend or family member–well, let’s just say I haven’t eaten for a week straight without even realizing it when that’d happen.”

_“You’re kidding me,”_ he chuckled.

“Nope–used to happen all the Time when I’d start worrying about my mom, or one of my older siblings,” the paramedic laughed. “That was long before I got into our industry and started forcing myself to take care of myself better, even when I was worried about someone.”

_“Well, at leastcha know what’ll happen while you’re worried, and you’re man enough to admit it,”_ Eric told him. _“Go make sure Lt. McKagan’s gonna be all right while I’m talking to his Captain for ya.”_

“Let Capt. McDay know that he prolly won’t be able to come in for at least a couple Days,” he responded. “I’ve seen a few asthma attacks, and while some bounce right back from them, others can take up to a week to be fully recovered.”

_“Will do, Bobby,”_ his boss agreed. _“I’ll see ya the next Time you’re actually on schedule in a couple Days.”_

“I look forward to it, sir,” Bobby chuckled before bidding his goodbyes.

After Ending the call and making sure he was clocked out, he headed back to the ER to see if Duff’d been taken elsewhere since he was pretty sure he was gonna get admitted overnight. Sure enough, he’d already been admitted and taken up to the fourth floor for observation, which he wasn’t surprised by. He also wasn’t surprised to hear that his taller, completely Dominant boyfriend had gone with him, considering they’d been friends for a pretty decent while.

Walking into the fireman’s room, he took care to be quiet, just in case he’d fallen asleep since he needed all the rest he could get right now. It turned out that he was still awake and growling as he practically shredded the hospital gown he’d been put in like he’d the claws of a Cat. Even Nikki couldn’t help but laugh at his antics, even though he was completely sympathetic since he hated those things, too.

Once he’d gotten settled on the open side of his bed, Bobby reached up to gently tuck his hair behind his ear, laughing softly when he tilted his head into the touch like a big Cat. The cop filled him in on what lil he’d missed while he was filling out his paperwork and getting clocked out, which wasn’t really much. He’d managed to get in touch with the blonde’s next-of-kin–his mother, Marie–out in Seattle to let her know what’d happened tonight. At first, she’d raged about how she was gonna come out and throttle her boy for being stupid, but he’d managed to talk her outta that. If she came out at all, it was gonna be to visit and maybe help take care of him for a few Days, but not to kill him since he’d told her he didn’t wanna have to arrest her.

Course, Duff rolled his eyes and said that they hadn’t needed to call his mother, since he knew he’d be fine once he got that albuterol treatment and Calmed down. That led to the cop and paramedic both arguing that it was part of their jobs, whether they were on- or off-duty at the Time, and he damn well knew it. He couldn’t help a sheepish blush as they gently admonished him, if only ’cuz he was embarrassed that his mother knew he’d gotten landed in the hospital over something so stupid. Knowing that said mother’d be there lickety-split didn’t exactly help with that, but there was nothing he could do to stop her now.

“Mom’s a worry-wart like that,” he sighed. “She’ll be on the first flight to Spokane just ’cuz she won’t have the Patience to drive almost six hours.”

“Might not be the best of ideas, depending on the Weather,” Nikki said thoughtfully. “I mean, it’s fuckin’ December in the Pacific-Northwest–too much can go wrong without a moment’s notice.”

“And I’m telling ya–when one of her babies is in the slightest bit of trouble, Mom doesn’t give a shit about that,” the fireman chuckled. “When I say she’s a worry-wart, I’m not kidding.”

“Sounds about like my mama, just on steroids,” Bobby laughed. “Then again, with the difference in how many kids they’ve to worry about, I’m not surprised.”

“Do I even wanna know?” The cop cocked a brow at both of them.

“I’m the youngest of three,” he answered. “So, that being said, Mama still triesta baby me, even though I’m twenty-six now.”

“Youngest of _eight,”_ Duff told him when he turned that Jadeite gaze on him. “So, it’s even worse for me in that department.”

“I feel about half-lucky, then,” the cop snorted as he grinned. _“Oldest_ of three, only two of us surviving. Well, that’s if ya only count those of us on my mom’s side since I dunno how many, if any siblings there could be from my dad’s.”

“Sounds like we’re all about five different kindsa fucked-up,” the fireman laughed, which caused him a bit of a coughing fit since he was still wheezing mildly.

“Just relax, hon,” Bobby told him, gently playing with his hair. “Get some rest, ’cuz we both know that’ll be the best thing for ya right now.”

Humming softly, he reached up to grab the hand playing with his hair and pulled it in front of his face so he could kiss the back of it. Even though they’d technically been working at a relationship for the last three months, he hadn’t bothered with even a chaste kiss yet–not that that’d stopped Nikki from moving a bit faster. Maybe it was that he was a bit more chivalrous, maybe it was something else, but he hadn’t wanted to push their shared boyfriend too far, too fast.

The cop and the paramedic both held his hands and simply watched him as Duff slowly drifted off, his breathing just a hair labored, if only from the wheezing. Bobby wasn’t too worried about it, ’cuz in having seen plenty of asthma attacks before, he knew it was fairly common after being brought outta one. While that only mildly reassured the taller, older brunette, it brought him at least a lil reassurance as they kept vigil that Night.

Early the next Morn, the pair of brunettes were stretched out in a pair of hospital recliners, each one still holding one of their shared boyfriend’s hands. The fireman was still snoozing as much as they were, albeit not quite as deeply since he’d woken up to a mild coughing fit about an hour ago. He was the one to hear the door to his hospital room open, but thinking it was just a nurse coming to do rounds again, he didn’t bother so much as cracking open his eyes. To be quite honest, it felt like his eyelids were made outta Lead, he was so tired after the Night previous, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. Bobby’d been right about getting rest being the best thing he could do, whether he liked it or not since he was typically so active.

It was hearing his mother’s voice responding to the nurse telling her that he appeared to still be asleep that got Duff to crack open his eyes. As in-tune to her babies as she was, the older woman was quick to notice that small action, even in the Darkness of his hospital room. She couldn’t help a smile as she gently grabbed his foot through the covers, making him chuckle softly and wiggle it in response. Marie McKagan’d never liked seeing any of her children unwell, and he supposed that’d never Change, no matter how old any of them got. After all, he’d siblings already in their forties, and she still fussed over them like a typical mother Hen, despite that.

“Good Morn, baby boy,” she said softly, finally settling in another chair the nurse brought so she was still down at his feet.

“Mom, I’m not a baby anymore,” the fireman chuckled, his face turning a Light shade of pink.

“Maybe not physically, but you’ll always be _my_ baby,” Marie told him.

“Ugh, I’m never gonna win that one, am I?” he asked, smirking as he rolled his eyes at the absurdity.

“Not by a country mile, hon.”

Looking to his left, Duff saw his shorter, submissive boyfriend stretching slightly. “Go back to sleep, if ya wanna, love–it’s still pretty early.”

“I’m used to sleeping weird hours, and I gotta go, too,” the paramedic told him as he cracked open his own eyes. “Lemme take care of that need, ma’am, and I’ll be glad to go through the typical niceties.”

Marie couldn’t help a giggle as she nodded, watching the wavy-haired man head into the adjoining bathroom. “A coworker, I’m guessing?”

“That and so much more,” her son answered, nodding as his taller, Dominant boyfriend grunted and stretched.

“Same in my case, too,” Nikki grumbled. “But that can be explained in a few minutes.”

If anyone seemed a bit surprised when Duff pulled him in for a quick _good-Morn_ kiss, it was the cop, not his mother. Then again, he’d come outta the closet to his mother when he was fourteen, ’cuz even though she’d the typical mother’s Dream of seeing all her kids get married and start families, she was a lot more open-minded than his dad. As long as her babies were happy, she didn’t really care what their sexual orientation was since she’d more than enough to eventually get grandbabies from.

Upon Bobby’s Return from the bathroom, their shared boyfriend pushed himself up from his chair to take his turn while he was introducing himself. Marie seemed more surprised by his being her youngest son’s chosen partner than by finding out they’d met at work. Then again, a lotta couples–no matter their orientation–seemed to meet at work, and a lotta those kinda relationships proved to be long and fruitful ones.

However, she was even more surprised when Nikki Returned and introduced himself, said youngest son telling her that he was also in a relationship with him. It seemed that her confusion grew when the cop admitted to also dating the paramedic, as if she didn’t quite understand the dynamic of their relationship. Duff couldn’t help a chuckle as he got his shorter boyfriend to help him sit his bed up, knowing damn good and well his mother wasn’t stupid by any means. They might have to break it down into layman’s terms for her, but she’d be quick to get it, and she’d readily accept such a strange dynamic. No doubt it’d take her some Time to get used to, but that didn’t mean she’d disown him for it any more than she’d disowned him for being gay.

The fireman was quick to remind his mother of how he was a Switch with more Dominant tendencies, but also had the occasional submissive streak. He could see the Light bulb over her head turn on as she started to get it, even if it was just a dim glow till he really and truly explained it. When he’d told both his boyfriends that his family was full of smart cookies–a couple were doctors, after all–he hadn’t been fuckin’ with their heads. Duff’d been dead serious when he’d told them that, although this was the first Time they were getting any proof to validate his claims.

“So, you’re both _Bobby’s_ Dominant partners,” Marie said slowly as she processed what she’d been told.

_“Mmm hmm,”_ he hummed as he nodded.

“And it’s you and Bobby who’re _Nikki’s_ submissive partners,” the older woman continued.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bobby answered with a nod of his own. “Duff and I met ’cuz we technically work for the same firehouse.”

“So, how’d ya meet Nikki?” she asked her son.

“Kept answering a lotta the same calls–like the suspected arson case out at the Silver Fox Bar and Grille–where police and Fire were both required,” Duff answered. “Most of those Times, Bobby was either already on a call or had the Night off, if EMS wasn’t part of the call.”

_“Ahhhh,_ I see.” Marie nodded. “And I’m guessing ya started getting to know Bobby more first?”

“Naturally, since we were spending twenty-four hours at a Time at the firehouse,” the fireman chuckled. “I mean, when we’re not on calls, we’re the only two who’d hang out with each other.”

“As if the prejudice wasn’t bad enough down in Miami,” Bobby grumbled, shoving his hair outta his face as he rolled his eyes. “If anything, being in a small town makes it worse.”

“Tell me about it, sweetheart,” he agreed.

“Only ya two’d know,” Nikki chuckled. “I was born and raised in a town barely bigger than this one, so I dunno about big City Life, prejudice included.”

“Where’re ya from, if ya don’t mind my asking?” Marie asked, turning her attention to the cop.

“The Town of Jerome down toward Twin Falls,” he answered. “Got sick of all the prejudice I dealt with down there, so when my grandparents passed, I decided to get the hell outta there and go somewhere I could start over.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your grandparents,” the older woman told him, gently squeezing his knee sympathetically.

“Don’t be,” he told her. “Untimely though their Deaths were, at least they didn’t appear to suffer for long before said Deaths came.”

Even Bobby and Duff were curious, ’cuz he never talked about how his grandparents’ Lives Ended.

“They were in a car wreck,” the cop said, seeing their curious expressions. “It wasn’t long after I got promoted from Detective to Sergeant.”

“We weren’t gonna ask, love,” Bobby told him.

“Yeah, ’cuz you’ve never really talked about them before, aside from what being raised by them was like,” the fireman agreed.

“It’s about Time I told y’all, so I might as well,” Nikki chuckled. “They were in the wrong place at the wrong Time–on their way back from a dinner date, they wound up getting plowed by a drunk driver who was evading one of my coworkers.”

“Oh, my Gods,” the rest of the group breathed in unison.

“Yeah, imagine how that poor guy felt when he ran their plate and realized _who_ the vics were,” he said dryly. “Poor guy thought I was gonna pull my service weapon and shoot him just for coming to tell me in person instead of subjecting me to a phone call.”

“Sounds like you’ve had as hard a Life as my son in some ways,” Marie mused.

She wouldn’t get into detail outta Respect for said son, but she made it clear that his childhood wasn’t always the easiest. After all, he was the youngest of eight born to Depression-era parents, so there were Times that something as simple as food was scarce. That led to Duff smirking as he finally told his boyfriends where the acronym _FHB_ –which meant _Family Hold Back_ –originated. It made complete sense, but it was still a bit amusing to think of ten people–maybe more, if one of the kids’d brought a friend home from school–barely taking any food so their guests could have plenty.

Bobby admitted that his parents were more World War II-era folks, but they’d still caught the tail-End of the Depression. While his father’d skipped out on the family when he was an infant, his mother’d raised him and his two older siblings in a fairly similar manner. Her barely able to bring in enough to care for them between going to school to become a registered nurse only fueled that kinda mentality.

Now Duff and Nikki both started to understand why their shared boyfriend had picked being a paramedic as his career path. It wasn’t just ’cuz it was one of the best choices for a caring Water Witch hell-bent on helping humanity as much as they could–it was ’cuz there was already a family history of it. Actually, it was kinda like the blonde’s father having worked for the Seattle Fire Department, then his own son going into the same field once he was grown, when they thought about it. That left the taller, older brunette as being the oddball out, who’d chosen his profession based on his being a Fire Witch combined with seeing how much trouble a few of his friends caused by getting messed up on drugs instead.

It wasn’t more than a couple hours before the doctor put in charge of his care came to check on the fireman, effectively interrupting their conversation. The good thing about that interruption was that he deemed him ready for discharge, although he ordered him to take the next week off from work. He knew he wasn’t getting outta doing so, judging by the looks his boyfriends and mother shot him, but that was fine by him. At least he was still alive to go back to work at all when not all first responders got that lucky upon responding to a call.


	7. Six

Once Duff’d been officially discharged from the hospital, Nikki’d offered up his cabin for even Marie to stay at for the next few Days. It was the closest of their homesta the hospital, and he doubted his blonde boyfriend wanted to be very active or trapped in a truck for too long right now. Hell only knew that the few Times he’d been stuck in the hospital after even the mildest of on-duty injuries, _he_ damn sure hadn’t wanted to be very active, let alone trapped in a truck, for a Day or two after his discharge.

Bobby and the fireman were both quick to agree, which’d the older woman agreeing pretty quickly, as well since she was unwilling to leave her son. Granted, said younger, shorter brunette said he was gonna run home for a change of clothes since he was still in his uniform from that rudely-Ended impromptu shift. As far as he was concerned, it was high Time for a pair of jeans and a T-shirt so he could actually relax, not this shit.

The cop got mother and son settled at his cabin, then said he’d take him back to the firehouse to get his own truck. After all, it was still sitting in the parking lot from where he’d driven to work, but never gone back for it since they’d all spent the Night at the hospital. Upon dropping him off, Nikki told him that he’d head to the fireman’s place to get him a change of clothes of his own since he’d a spare key. He knew his blonde boyfriend could prolly make do with some of his clothes better than the brunette one, but he figured Duff’d be more comfortable in his own clothes as compared to not.

“I’ll meetcha back at your place, then,” Bobby told him. “Just don’t be surprised if it takes me a bit longer than you’d like–I kinda wanna enjoy my shower.”

“Or ya could just take one when ya get there so ya ain’t gotta come back out in the cold once ya get all nice and toasty,” he chuckled, unable to help a slightly devious smirk.

“Or that,” the paramedic agreed with a laugh. “But you’re not joining me with Duff and his mom in the cabin, too.”

“Aw, nuts,” Nikki snickered, snapping his fingers. “And here, I was hoping we could show ’em the meaning of tearing down the walls.”

“Not gonna happen, ya horn-Dog,” he laughed. “Now go get his clothes before he starts getting pissy.”

“Yea, yea,” the cop chuckled, gently pulling him against him since they were inside where his neighbors couldn’t see. “I’d rather not deal with a pissy Duff since he’s already feeling rotten enough.”

_“Mmm,”_ Bobby hummed, sighing into the goodbye kiss he gave him. “I’ll see ya in a lil bit, love.”

“Better not be too big a _lil bit,”_ he told him as they parted so he could head the couple short miles away to the fireman’s cabin.

Waving to him as he climbed back into his truck, the cop prepared himself to run his errand before Returning home to his own cabin. Given that this was the Days long before even the Internet, let alone cell phones, it wasn’t like he could shoot Duff a quick text to let him know what was going on. And he couldn’t text the younger, shorter brunette once he got back to said cabin to let him know he’d gotten there safely. Either he’d have to call him once he got back home, or he’d just have to wait till Bobby showed up again to prove he was still in one piece, not scattered across the road in several.

Luckily, having lived in Idaho all his Life, Nikki was no stranger to needing Snow tires on his truck at the very least and always made sure they were on there with the first hint of Snow heading his way. He also kept tire chains behind his seat for the Times there was Ice on the roads, knowing just how important they could be this far North, if he didn’t wanna spin _or_ burn out.

Grabbing a handful of the blonde’s clothes was relatively easy for him, even if he wasn’t as familiar with his style outside work as the paramedic was. Duff seemed to be a jeans-and-T-shirt kinda guy just like he was, a few flannel plaids in his closet for the few Times even _he_ couldn’t take the cold up here. Being born and raised in Seattle, though, it was rare that either of them felt the need for a ton of layers when it was above zero, ’cuz they were already well-acclimated. Not such much in their shared boyfriend’s case, even though he’d been living here for the last four Years, since he was originally from Florida. But that was one of the good things about having two boyfriends who cared about him–he’d never be alone unless he wanted to be, and they’d always be there to warm him up when he got cold.

Once he’d packed a duffel bag with the fireman’s clothes and other essentials, Nikki made sure his cabin was locked up for him. He doubted that anyone’d break in, if only by the curious looks he noticed from the one guy who paused at the foot of the driveway after blocking him in. As it turned out, it was one of the guys who lived almost directly across Blue Creek Bay from his boyfriend’s cabin and kept an eye on the place for him when he knew he was gonna be at work. When he’d seen a strange truck in the driveway and an equally-strange guy come outta the place, he’d decided to stop and make sure everything was all right.

Beyond glad to hear that he’d neighbors who looked after him–or at least, his home when he was at work–Nikki assured the guy that nothing was wrong. Well, that was as long as one didn’t count the blonde suffering an asthma and panic attack the Night before, considering they’d managed to bring him outta both. After all, he really just needed to rest and regain his strength now, which was exactly what they Intended to make sure he did. And even if he and Bobby _didn’t_ Intend to do that, they knew without even having to ask that Marie wasn’t gonna let her son push himself beyond what his body could handle. She knew his post-asthma and -panic attack habits better than they did, and prolly knew just how far he could push himself as well as Duff did.

“Aw, man–I hate to hear that it happened again,” his neighbor–Eric–said with a wince.

“Yeah, but that’s why he’s crashing up the road at my place,” the cop told him, chuckling. “It was the closest since we’ve another friend who said he could crash at his place, too. That, and I’ve more of the week off than our other friend, so even if Duff’s mother can’t stay the entire week, he still won’t be alone when that other friend’s at work.”

“Sounds like he’s more than covered,” he laughed. “Although, stubborn as Mike tendsta be, I’m sure he’s not liking it.”

“Mike?” Nikki asked, cocking a brow curiously.

“Ya didn’t know?” the guy countered. “His name’s not really Duff–that’s just a nickname he goes by.”

“Naw, can’t say I knew that about him,” he answered, shaking his head. “Then again, we’ve only started hanging out outside work more within the last couple months.”

_“Ahhhh,_ I see.” Eric nodded. “Yeah, he told me that _Duff_ was a childhood nickname ’cuz there was another boy of Irish descent named Mike that lived nearby. They spent a lotta Time together as kids, and the other boy’s grandfather started calling this one _Duff_ as a way of differentiating.”

“Hey, it makes total sense,” the cop said. “Gods know I used to go by _Frankie_ till I Changed my name completely when I moved up here, ’cuz only my grandparents seemed to know that I was _Jr._ and not mix me up with my sperm donor before then.”

“Oh, the dreaded _Jr.!”_ he laughed. “Fuck, am I glad my mother didn’t Curse me like that!”

“Seriously, although it was my sperm donor who committed _that_ betrayal,” Nikki chuckled. “Then again, it turned out to be a good thing since one of my Birth Creature’s choices was actual Michael.”

Both men couldn’t help a bout of laughter at the Thought of how confusing that’d be, if Duff went by _Mike_ more often than he didn’t and _he’d_ been named Michael, too. Their poor shared boyfriend would never be able to tell them apart without calling one of them _Mikey_ or using their middle name. Shit’d be way too confusing for all three of them, so it was definitely for the best that he _hadn’t_ been named that, as well.

Eric let him head out, now that he was assured he wasn’t committing B&E and trying to Destroy any of his neighbor’s belongings. He told him to pass on his well-Wishes once he got back to his own cabin and saw him again, even if he’d to wait for him to wake from a nap first. Promising he would, the cop climbed back into his truck to fire it up, knowing the blonde was no doubt starting to get a bit anxious–not to mention pissy–as he wondered what on Earth was taking him so long. It wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong, or had gotten into a wreck of his own, the latter of which he Intended to avoid by driving slowly and carefully.

As he finally pulled into his driveway a short while later, the cop couldn’t help a smile as he saw that Bobby’d actually managed to beat him there. He supposed he’d spent a bit more Time gathering up what was in that duffel bag and talking to Eric than he’d thought, if that’d happened. The paramedic’d warned him that he fully Intended to enjoy his shower before he came back unless he’d just taken his suggestion of showering here so he wouldn’t wind up frozen to heart.

“Oh, thank the Gods, love!” said younger, shorter brunette sighed as he walked in. “I was starting to get worried!”

“Ya were, huh?” Nikki chuckled, leaning down to give him a quick kiss. “I think we all know I’ma tougher guy than that.”

“Hey, I can’t help still being a bit high-strung after last Night!” he laughed.

“I know, I know,” the cop told him, leaning down to kiss his blonde boyfriend so he wouldn’t have to get up off the couch just yet. “Wasn’t exactly my fault, though.”

“Whaddaya mean?” Duff asked curiously, a brow cocked just as much as his mother’s and their shared boyfriend.

“Ran into one of your neighbors after I finally finished packing up that duffel bag for ya,” he said.

“Oh, Eric more than likely,” the fireman chuckled.

“Yeah, that was him.” Nikki nodded as he sat said duffel bag down for the Time being. “Said he kept an eye on your place for ya when ya were at work.”

“Yeah, he does,” he explained. “He was prolly starting to worry when I didn’t come back home last Night since I told him I was going out with a friend.”

“Seemed decently worried, for sure,” the cop agreed. “Even told me to pass on his well-Wishes when I got back after I told him you’d wound up in the hospital overnight.”

“He prolly didn’t even have to be told _why_ I wound up there,” Duff chuckled. “He knows I’ve mild asthma that really only gets triggered when I’m around too many strong odors for too long, and he’s well-aware of my panic attacks, too.”

“No Wonder you’re always telling me I don’t need to come out here and check up on ya,” Marie giggled, patting his knee. “Sounds like you’ve some damn good neighbors in addition to two sweet, caring boyfriends.”

Bobby and Nikki both couldn’t help a blush at her words, even though they both knew damn good and well it was true. Even if nobody but the former from the firehouse gave a shit about him, the fireman definitely had others in the area who _did,_ and they weren’t afraid to show it, thankfully. And luckily for him, those folks–his boyfriends included–knew when to back off so they didn’t push him too far, and when to force their own Will on him before he wound up getting hurt or something.

Once he’d taken Duff’s bag up to his own room, the cop headed back downstairsta start on what’d prolly wind up being more of a late lunch. It’d been so late when his blonde boyfriend had gotten discharged that by the Time they made it back to his cabin, it’d already pretty much been lunchtime then. Unless his mother’d made him something so he could relax, he doubted he’d eaten since breakfast’d been served early that Morn.

Said blonde was content to simply chill on the couch, his shorter brunette boyfriend snuggled against his side while the taller one was working on food. His mother seemed pretty content with just chilling out and chatting with the pair, her glee at her youngest son finally finding someone he wanted to be with still written all over her face. Neither could help a slight blush, despite none of them having done anything sexual with either of the others–not that they’d admit to her whether they _had_ or not. As far as all three of them were concerned, it wasn’t _anybody’s_ business except their own what they did or didn’t do together. That was even true for the youngest first responder’s mother, not to mention all seven of his older siblings, his nieces, and his nephews.


	8. Seven

_May, 1991_

As the holiday Season slowly came and went, the amount of emergency calls seemed to spike there for a while before tapering off just as suddenly. Everything from someone burning their Bird–or Pig, in some cases–to Christmas Trees going up in Flames from faulty wiring in the Lights strung through them was on the table. There was even a case of arson that somebody’d tried to disguise as one of those innocent faulty wiring cases, which’d required all three branches of first responseta some degree.

Said first responders were all exhausted by the Time New Year’s came and went, pretty much all of them collapsing into their beds for a week off afterward. Obviously, those weeks off were staggered so there were still folks on-duty for any calls that came in–a total shutdown of emergency response just wasn’t feasible, after all. But Bobby, Nikki, and Duff were all lucky enough to get their week off at once, the trio deciding to congregate at the taller, older brunette’s cabin. They were quick to unplug the phone, none of them Intent on answering the door unless they wound up hearing the police Chief’s voice outside.

By the Time Spring was finally in full swing for an area so far North–which was as the Sabbat of _Beltane_ rolled around–the calls were starting to pick up again. Not in nearly as high a volume as _Yule_ and various other holidays drew nigh and passed throughout December, but enough to notice. Course, that wasn’t much of a surprise as it finally started warming up enough for folksta start heading outside and get shit done.

One of the first calls that came in after our Pagan first responders celebrated their second Spring Sabbat seemed relatively benign at first. Well, as benign as a car accident that required all three branches possibly could be, but that didn’t necessarily mean much. It could be just a fender-bender where there were few injuries, but police were required to break up any fights while Fire and EMS checked everyone out. Then again, it could be serious enough to require the jaws of Life, or somebody’d wind up getting turned into barbecue ’cuz they couldn’t be extricated in Time.

“What’ve we got?” Bobby called out, already opening up the back of his ambulance.

“This one needs asthmatic treatment!” the cop answered, helping an obviously-pregnant woman over to him.

“Smoke inhalation?” he asked, gloving up as the firehouse’s ladder truck screeched to a halt nearby.

“Yeah, triggered her moderate asthma,” he answered with a nod. “Gotta get back over there before I’ve to arrest her husband for murder.”

“Get to it, then,” the paramedic told him, pulling out what he needed. “Ma’am, what’s your name?”

“C-Cindy,” she managed to croak, even though it set off a coughing fit.

“Deep breaths, Cindy,” Bobby said, gently rubbing her back. “Gotta get as much Air in as ya can while I’m setting up this albuterol treatment.”

“C-Can’t–a-allergic,” the woman gasped.

“Oh, boy–that complicates things just a bit,” he chuckled. “You’re not allergic to epi, are ya?”

Cindy managed to shake her head.

“Then let’s try half a shot of that,” the paramedic suggested. “Don’t wanna give ya too much so we don’t wind up the lil man or girlie too much without a good way to monitor them.”

Nodding again, she managed to keep herself upright where they’d settled her on the foot of the stretcher that he’d pulled out. She definitely couldn’t fake her wheezing and shortness of breath–which he’d have been able to tell the difference in, what with dating an asthmatic. But he wasn’t exactly liking the slight blue tinge starting to take hold of her face, particularly around her lips, since he knew what it meant.

Just as Nikki escorted the woman’s husband up, having finally separated him from the other man he’d been trying to fight, Bobby was giving her the shot of epinephrine he’d drawn up. As he’d suggested, he’d drawn up only half the amount he’d normally give a grown woman under these circumstances. Not only did he not wanna get the baby wound up too much, but he knew that prolonged exposure could be detrimental for both mother and child. Hopefully, this half-dose’d do the trick in opening up her airways enough for her to breathe better and at least buy enough Time to get her to a hospital.

Moments after giving her the shot, Cindy was already starting to look better, a slight smile starting to curve her lips a bit. Her husband and even the cop seemed to be relieved, said husband moving to give her a hug as he moved to grab his blood pressure cuff. The only problem was that no one noticed what was about to cause their next problem–which normally wouldn’t have been a problem at all–or Nikki woulda warned his closet boyfriend not to move.

The paramedic let out a yelp as he felt something at his neck that made him reach up to slap it, his eyes widening as he was almost immediately clued in to what it was. He knew damn good and well what was wrong as the angry buzz right in his ear registered, and he knew he’d only momentsta act. If not for knowing that what was now on the horizon wouldn’t do anyone any good, Bobby never woulda turned his attention away from a patient that needed him. But that was the thing about being highly allergic to Bee stings–he was already technically a patient himself, and he’d absolutely no Time to waste. Even as he was grabbing a pair of tweezers and moving to one of the mirrors up front, he looked at his taller, brunette boyfriend.

“Go get Duff… _now!”_ he told him, trying to express his urgency while keeping himself as Calm as possible.

“Why–what happened?” the cop asked, looking confused.

“Just go get him in case I go down, damn it!” Bobby snapped.

Terrified into action, Nikki turned and took off in the Direction he’d last seen their shared blonde boyfriend.

“Gods damn–just what I needed while out on a call,” the paramedic grumbled, bending down to attempt getting the stinger outta his neck.

Unfortunately, having to pause even long enough to tell the cop to go get Duff’d cost him precious Time, and he started to feel his throat swell shut. Before he could try getting that stinger out, he felt himself sway toward the door of the ambulance as his auto-immune response kicked in full-force. He couldn’t stop himself from going down as the lack of oxygen started getting to him, the resulting _thud!_ of him hitting the side of the vehicle startling his original patient and her husband.

Moments later, Duff skidded around the back End of the ambulance, said cop hot on his heels, and he was horrified at what he found. Seeing the tweezers in their boyfriend’s limp hand, he knew what he’d been trying to do as he turned for where the other patient was still waiting. He snapped a quick order to Nikki, knowing that Time was of the Essence and that they’d have to work together on this one.

“Take those tweezers, and get that stinger outta his neck!” the fireman called.

“How’s _that_ supposed to help?” he asked, even as he picked up the small piece of Metal.

“Gotta get it out so it’ll quit pumping in even more of the toxin,” Duff answered, careful not to hit the young woman as he started digging.

“Dear God–he’s allergic to Bee stings, isn’t he?” her husband asked.

“Unfortunately,” he answered. “But he knew I was aware of that, which’s why he sent Lt. Sixx to get me instead of anyone else.”

“I think I got the damn thing out!” Nikki called out. “But he still sounds like he’s choking on something!”

“He’s basically choking on his own throat,” the fireman yelled, jumping back outta the ambulance with what he needed. “Getting that stinger out helps, though.”

“I still don’t quite get that one,” he grumbled, moving so he’d room to work.

“’Cuz it’s got a sac attached to the other End that gets pulled outta the Bee when it stings,” Duff explained, already drawing up a dose of epinephrine. “That sac continuously pumps in venom till the stinger’s removed.”

_“Ahhhh,_ now I get it,” the cop said, nodding.

“Bobby, if ya can still hear me, you’re ’bout to feel a pinch,” he said.

The paramedic managed to flash him a thumbs-up just before his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Damn it,” the fireman growled as he shoved the syringe into his outer thigh right through his uniform pants. “Not today, damn ya!”

Nikki struggled to bite back tears so he wouldn’t give them away, even as he pushed his thumb down on the plunger.

Gently pushing him outta the way, Duff moved to double-check to make sure the entire stinger’d been removed from their shared boyfriend’s neck. There was no way he could deny wanting to choke up and let his panic disorder get the best of him, but he knew he couldn’t do that right now. Once he managed to get him breathing again–even if that required intubating him–and got him to the hospital so they could get him better treatment, there’d be Time for _that_ kinda behavior.

Bobby let out a sudden, sharp gasp as the epinephrine he’d been given finally managed to circulate through his system enough to kick in. He still wasn’t able to take as deep a breath as the fireman woulda liked, but at least his airways were proving to be opening up again. After giving him a few more moments, he rose so he could slam his fist into the hood of the ambulance as he called out.

Looking over when he heard his name, the paramedic’s partner Bruce saw the blonde fireman waving him over to the ambulance he’d driven. Wondering what was going on, he held up a finger to let him know he’d be over there in a minute, then made sure the idiot he’d been patching up was good to go. Officer Ream was quick to drag him off to a patrol car once they were sure he wasn’t in need of any further medical attention, which was the best place for him. Sure, the shorter, bleach-blonde paramedic did his fair share of stupid shit, but even _he_ drew the line with drinking and driving–unlike that particular asshole.

“Jesus Christ–what happened?” he asked, his jaw dropping as he rounded the ambulanceta see none other than his own partner on the ground.

“He’s allergic to Bee stings, nimrod,” Duff answered. “Get an intubation kit, man–I can administer epi and pull out a stinger, but I _can’t_ put in a breathing tube.”

“Ya sure he _needs_ that?” the cop kneeling next to them asked uncertainly.

“He’s still wheezing too much,” he answered, nodding. “If we don’t get a breathing tube in while we can, his airways might snap shut again.”

“And then we’ll be lucky to get a crike in,” Bruce told him, heading to the back.

“The hell’s _that?”_ Nikki asked, looking confused.

“Breathing tube that goes in right about here,” the fireman answered, gently caressing their fallen boyfriend’s throat just beneath his Adam’s apple. “Most folks call it a trach, though, but same difference.”

“Duff, do me a favor,” the blonde paramedic said as he Returned with that intubation kit.

“What is it?” he asked, glancing up.

“Finish up with the young woman at the back that he was working on before he went down,” he told him. “Moderate asthma triggered by the Smoke. Twenty-two weeks pregnant, allergic to albuterol, and already got half the normal dose of epi to play it safe with her pregnancy.”

“On it, man,” Duff said, pushing himself to his feet. “Just get Bobby squared away. We’ll throw him in the back of Nikki’s patrol car, if we gotta.”

Nodding, he turned his attention to his impromptu patient as he pulled his head back like he would, if he were about to give him a rescue breath. Then again, he supposed he kinda _was_ about to do that as he started threading his loringoscope into his throat, wincing at what he managed to make out. Everything was still so swollen that it was a bit hard for him to make out anything familiar, so it took him a few more momentsta get into his trachea than it normally would.

Finally far enough into his trachea for his liking, Bruce used his free hand and teeth to rip open the sterile packaging of the breathing tube. He normally wouldn’t have done such a thing to prevent contaminating his equipment, but he’d let Bobby kill him for it later, if it made him sick. At least he’d still be alive _to_ kill him later, rather than being lowered into a hole in the ground ’cuz he’d wasted Time instead.

Part of Nikki didn’t wanna watch as the much-shorter paramedic started threading that tube into his brunette boyfriend’s throat, but he just couldn’t look away. He was still somehow managing to bite back his tears, even as he listened to the man’s triumphant cry moments after he’d started. Still, it wasn’t an easy feat to manage by any means–and he’d no doubt that Duff was having just as much trouble at the moment. It was never easy to see a loved one in any kinda trouble, but considering how few loved ones he’d left at this point, it was even harder for him. But seeing Bruce get some kinda bag attached to that breathing tube–which his shared boyfriend was already managing to breathe through on his own–was an even bigger relief.

After getting that bag attached and giving it a couple good squeezes, the paramedic turned his attention to the cop still kneeling next to them. He was a bit surprised by that, but didn’t think too much of it as he snapped at him as much as he’d allow himself to in order to get his attention. Maybe it was a bit weird that he was still kneeling there since he no doubt had other dutiesta fulfill, or maybe he was already fulfilling one. God only knew that he could radio for more help while he’d been intubating his partner, if he’d told him to, which’d definitely be a good thing.

“Keep bagging him while I’m getting the back-board and stretcher,” he told him. “I don’t think he’ll quit breathing on his own again, but I’d rather play it safe than be sorry.”

“Then give it here,” Nikki growled, moving to grab the bag as it seemingly reinflated itself.

“Stick with the pace I was going,” the shorter paramedic told him. “Ya don’t wanna make him start stacking or anything.”

“The fuck’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Just lemme get that other shit, and I’ll explain it,” Bruce told him, already jogging to the back of the ambulance.

Left with no other choices, the cop simply kept squeezing the bag and loosening his grip at the same pace he’d been, glad to see Bobby’s chest continue rising and falling slowly.

“Stacking means you’re pumping Air in faster than his body can force it back out,” he heard behind him, along with the Sounds of a stretcher being lowered.

“Doesn’t sound like it’d be good,” Nikki said, unable to help a wince.

“Means he won’t be able to breathe, even _with_ the breathing tube in,” the fireman told him, having Returned with Bruce. “Let’s get him strapped down and loaded up.”

“We taking Mama and her hubby with us?” Bruce asked, moving into position with the back-board.

“Prolly a good idea, if only ’cuz she’s pregnant,” he answered. “On three…”

“Keep bagging him, Lt. Sixx,” the shorter paramedic said. “One…two…”

Duff didn’t even grunt as he rolled their boyfriend onto his side, holding him there till the board was in position before rolling him onto his back again.

“Lemme take a quick listen,” Bruce said, already slipping the prongs of his stethoscope into his ears.

The cop was still squeezing that bag, even as he reached under Bobby’s uniform shirt with the bell cupped in his hand.

“Doesn’t sound like that tube shifted to me,” he announced.

“We’ll know, if it did,” the fireman told him. “It won’t take his vitals long to start going nuts, if that’s the case.”

“As much swelling as there is in there, I don’t think much of anything’s moving that tube for a while,” Bruce chuckled. “Hell, I barely got it in in the first place.”

“What matters is thatcha got it in, and quick enough to make sure he could breathe,” he told him.

Both looked down when they heard what sounded like a cross between a grunt and a moan, Duff smiling when he saw his shared boyfriend’s eyes cracking open. “How many fingers, Bobby?”

Squinting against the Sunlight beating down on him, the taller paramedic held up two fingers of his own in responseta his question.

“All right, we’re good on that one,” he sighed. “Just relax, and we’ll getcha to the hospital so they can pump ya full of fluids and Benadryl.”

Bobby managed a slight nod, even though that made him gag slightly, which scared the hell outta the cop still bagging him as they got him strapped down. His partner and the fireman were both quick to reassure him that he’d done nothing wrong that coulda potentially hurt him. If anything, it was just the weird angle combined with even a slight movement pressing his breathing tube into his gag reflex just a hair too much. However, the good thing about being intubated right now was that even if he’d puked from it, the breathing tube’d keep him from choking on whatever came up.

Once they’d gotten him strapped to the stretcher and loaded into the back of the ambulance, the taller paramedic’s eyes were closed again. He was still conscious as Bruce climbed in so he could settle next to his head, his original patient settled in her husband’s lap on his left side. As Nikki headed back to his patrol car to follow them, the fireman headed up to the front to take over the job his partner normally did. Course, with him currently laid up as a patient, they didn’t exactly have much of a choice unless the blonde wanted a crash-course of a memory refresher in the EMT side of his job. He just didn’t wanna potentially fuck up on someone that meant so much to him, so he was more than content with driving the rig.

At the ER he was used to _taking_ patientsta in Coeur D’Alene, not _being_ taken to _as_ a patient, the taller paramedic was given a thorough exam by the on-duty attending. He knew Dr. Wolfe pretty well–well enough to know that the man could sign pretty damn well–which was when he surprised both his boyfriends, who’d been helping to get the young woman and her husband brought in.

He made it quite clear not to let the fireman and cop with him leave, that they were his Powers of Attorney since it wasn’t like his next-of-kin was present. The ER attending nodded before calling out to the pair, who’d already turned to leave so they could get back to work. Both Duff and Nikki were surprised by what they were told, but they weren’t about to argue with their boyfriend as an IV was finally started. They just wanted him to make a full recovery, even if it meant taking a week or two off to help him with that after this fiasco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say that I've no idea whether Bobby Dall's actually allergic to Bee stings or not. He might be, or he may not–the man's so private outside Poison, I daresay he disappearsta a private island, or maybe even another Dimension altogether when he's not recording and/or touring. LOL! That being said, I'm counting an allergy to Bee stings for him as just a plot line cooked up by my overactive Imagination...  
> ~Firefly


	9. Eight

When Bobby next woke and was any amount of coherent, he wasn’t surprised to find that he still had that breathing tube crammed down his throat. After all, as much as _his_ airways tended to swell whenever he got stung by a Bee, he was amazed anyone’d been able to even get a dose of epinephrine in him, let alone a breathing tube before it was too late. Then again, that was another one of his reasons for going into first response as his career choice–even when he purposely didn’t carry any of the shit himself, he was guaranteed to be around what he needed, if that ever happened to him.

Feeling like he was starting to stack, as they said in the medical field, just as an alarm went off over his head and scared both his boyfriends awake, he managed to turn his head to his left enough to see what he was doing. Naturally, Duff freaked even worse as he managed to swat at the ventilator that was still attached to his breathing tube, which only made him swat at his hand instead.

“Wait, what was it that Bruce said we _didn’t_ want him doing when he told me to bag him?” the cop on his other side asked, looking as if he’d a Light bulb moment.

“Stacking?” Those hazel eyes he loved suddenly widened to the size of dinner plates. “Oh, Gods!”

Bobby was glad when he flipped the power switch of the ventilator for him, then got to work on unhooking its tubing from the tube crammed down his throat.

“Huh, looks like I was right,” Nikki chuckled as he slowly relaxed into his bed.

Unsure if they’d actually be able to understand him, the paramedic reached up to move the apparatus holding that breathing tube still as much as he could. “Yeah, ya were, love,” he somehow managed to force out relatively clearly.

“Don’t try to talk, sweetheart,” his blonde boyfriend told him. “We don’t needja choking on that damn tube or anything.”

He couldn’t help rolling his eyes, nor flipping him off, much to both their amusement.

“Everything all right in here?”

Looking over toward the doorway, Duff saw the nurse who’d come on-duty to relieve last Night’s nurse a couple hours ago. Nodding, he told her to go get Dr. Wolfe, considering that he oughta be back on-duty, himself by now–or in the next few minutes, anywhore. It seemed that said nurse was confused till he managed to shift his weight, which revealed Bobby managing a slight wave from where he lay.

Despite looking surprised, the young woman turned and headed outta the room so she could grab the doctor requested. There wasn’t a doubt in any of their minds that–even if he hadn’t actually clocked in yet–he’d wanna be notified that his Bee sting patient was awake and coherent. He’d seemed pretty worried about him all Day after he was brought in, even to the point of working a couple hours over just so he’d be here, if he woke up. When it became apparent that he wasn’t gonna wake for more than a couple minutes before Morn, he’d decided to head on home and get some rest of his own.

As they waited for the pair to Return, Duff looked up at his taller, Dominant brunette of a boyfriend with a bit of a serious look on his face. He told him not to go too quickly, but to help sit him up while he was steadying that breathing tube, if it shifted in the slightest. The paramedic was gonna need to be sitting up slightly, if he was deemed no longer in need of that breathing tube. But they’d to be careful with moving him even slightly, ’cuz if it shifted the wrong way, that tube’d completely cut off his airway.

“Right now, it’s kinda like breathing through a straw,” the fireman told him. “Not exactly the easiest thing to do, especially if he’s up and active like this, but it _can_ be done.”

“But if it shifts, he might as well have a piece of food caught in his throat,” Nikki said, nodding as he got it.

“Exactly, and that’s the last thing we want,” he answered with a nod of his own. “Since I know ya dunno what you’re doing–from a patient’s _or_ provider’s End–I’m not making ya try to hold this tube steady for him, if that strap loses its grip.”

“Thank the Gods, ’cuz no offense, sweetheart, but I don’t think I could,” the cop laughed softly.

Bobby managed a soft chuckle of his own, even though it made him cough through the tube in question.

“He’s fine,” their blonde boyfriend reassured him. “Even chuckling around one of these’ll jostle it just enough to make a person cough like they’re clearing their throat.”

“Makes sense, but I’m guessing you’ve had it happen before?” he asked as they worked on sitting him up.

“When I was a kid, maybe around sixteen at the oldest,” Duff answered. “Asthma sucks like that, even when it’s supposed to be a mild case. It’ll let a chest cold turn into pneumonia lickety-split, and that can getcha intubated pretty quick, just to be damn sure ya can still breathe.”

Even the paramedic couldn’t help a wince, ’cuz it sounded pretty much like what he went through with his allergy.

“Well, well, well–look who decided to wake up.”

Glancing over toward the door again, all three first responders saw Dr. Wolfe walking in with the nurse the fireman’d sent to get him, as well as a respiratory specialist. No doubt that second man was gonna be the ultimate judge of whether Bobby was extubated within the next few minutes or not, which was fine by them. While they all preferred sooner, rather than later, the important thing was that he was deemed healthy enough to breathe on his own. Course, with him already doing just that through his breathing tube like it was a really long straw, they didn’t see why the guy’d deny extubation.

Nikki helped his brunette submissive boyfriend sit up a bit straighter, their shared partner still steadying that tube for him as he did. The respiratory specialist wanted to take a listen to his lungs before he even tried taking it out, but they still didn’t want him choking. Even still, they weren’t able to keep him from needing to cough slightly, but at least he settled down, even though he glared down at what lil of the tube he could see.

With his breath Sounds being loud and mostly clear on both sides, the paramedic was deemed ready for extubation. Duff and the cop both heaved their own sighs of relief as they gently laid him back against his bed again, the nurse already setting up for the procedure. Looking up at his Dominant brunette boyfriend, he warned him that unless he’d a stomach made of cast Iron, he might wanna go wait in the hall. Being extubated often made patients vomit from the End of the tube hitting their gag reflex on its way out and triggering it.

“You’d be surprised what my stomach can handle,” Nikki chuckled. “I mean, c’mon–I’m called to scenes that involve dead bodies on a regular basis, and I’m the only one who never loses my lunch.”

“Really?” the nurse asked as she glanced up at him.

“I might be a Lieutenant now, but I wasn’t always,” he answered. “And when I was still a Detective, I got called to a lot more of those kinda scenes.”

“Guess we’ll find out just how strong your stomach _really_ is, then,” Duff snickered.

“Come back and rib me the Day ya can make it through a gut-wash at an autopsy without losing your lunch, kid,” the cop laughed. “Till then, I don’t wanna hear it.”

Even Dr. Wolfe couldn’t help laughing at that, ’cuz he knew exactly what he was talking about. “Fair enough, Lt. Sixx–those things’re nasty.”

“I’m not even sure I wanna know,” the fireman said, sounding dubious.

“Let’s just say it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like,” he told him. “And I only know, ’cuz I remember my rotation through the ME’s office when I was still deciding on a field to go into.”

Nikki took his own turn to snicker as his blonde boyfriend looked like he was biting back a gag so he wouldn’t set off the shorter brunette.

“All right, Bobby–deep breath, and when I tell ya to, cough as hard as ya can,” the respiratory specialist said once he was ready to extubate him.

Nodding, the paramedic took as deep a breath as he could manage.

“Gimme that nice, big cough,” he told him.

Bobby coughed so hard that, combined with his pulling on the tube, he nearly got it out in one try.

“Not quite that hard this Time,” he chuckled.

Moments later, the tube was hitting the End of his gag reflex–just like Duff’d predicted that it would–and making him gag as the guy pulled it completely out. The nurse was already in place with a basin when he wound up spitting out a bit of bile, which wasn’t outside the norm for this kinda thing. After all, he hadn’t eaten since he’d managed to scarf down a small breakfast before his shift the Morn previous, so they weren’t surprised.

Once he’d been given a few momentsta catch his breath, Dr. Wolfe got the cop and fireman on either side of him to help Bobby sit up again. He wanted to take a listen to his lungs, now that that tube wasn’t hindering his breathing in the slightest to be sure his airways were still open well enough. At the worst, he shouldn’t need anything but Benadryl or maybe a small dose of albuterol to open him up, if need be, but he didn’t really see him needing even that. That was pretty much a last resort before intubating him a second Time, but it’d really depend on how much wheezing he heard.

Luckily for the paramedic–and to the relief of his boyfriends–the doctor heard minimal wheezing from both lungs, which was pretty typical after what he’d gone through. His airways weren’t necessarily swollen to the point of being completely closed off, but they were no doubt still a lil irritated and inflamed. As long as they kept an eye on him and made sure he stayed off his feet for the next week or so, he’d be back to normal and on the job again in no Time.

“Why didn’tcha ever say anything about being allergic to Bees, sweetheart?” Nikki asked once it was just the three of them again. “Ya scared the fuckin’ hell outta me yesterday.”

“Slips my mind till I get stung by one of the lil bastards,” he chuckled. “I’m usually so good about avoiding them or getting epi into myself before I’ve to alert anyone else that I don’t really think about it.”

“It’s kinda like me and my asthma,” the fireman spoke up. “Ya know it pretty much never acts up till I’m around thick Smoke with no gear–or leaky gear, for that matter.”

“Yeah, that’s a good way to think about it,” Bobby agreed, nodding. “When I’m on a call or in the firehouse, I’m already around what I need to open up my airways again. I only told Duff ’cuz I got stung when we were washing the trucks and ambulance one Day, and he threatened to report me for stealing drugs from work.”

“Bet _that_ didn’t go over too well,” he laughed softly.

“Well, once I got close enough to hear him wheezing as he stabbed that syringe into his leg, I realized he wasn’t playing around,” Duff chuckled. “Both our bosses thought I was aiding and abetting there for a minute, but the EMS Chief was quick to realize I wasn’t when he took my stethoscope and got a good listen to his lungs for himself.”

“When they managed to sit me up and found the stinger still in the back of my arm–which explained why the epi wasn’t working very well–none of them tried to argue with me,” the paramedic recalled. “They realized that yeah, I _was_ technically stealing from work, but it was ’cuz I’d no other choices besides Death.”

“Hey, that’s a good enough reason to steal from work for _my_ personal book,” Nikki told him. “Andja both know how strong my morals are.”

“Yeah, we do, ya Blessed Fire Witch,” the fireman laughed.

“Now, what about _you?”_ Bobby asked curiously. “Any medical conditions _we_ need to be aware of before we findja dead somewhere?”

Letting out a laugh of his own, the cop admitted that he was actually hypoglycemic–which meant that his sugar Naturally ran too low. It wasn’t that he didn’t eat like he should–it was that his pancreas was in almost constant overdrive, compared to a normal person or especially a diabetic. But he managed to keep himself in check by simply listening to his body, which meant that snacking on beef jerky till he could get a full meal kept him from keeling over. That was also part of the reason why he’d Whiskey back at the cabin–that Dog was as much a pet as he was a service Animal for him.

Duff was the one listening more Intently as he explained that the German Shepherd had been trained to be able to sniff out when his sugar was too low. Whenever he caught that particular Change in his scent, either he’d wake him up, or he’d take off to alert somebody else so they could get him help. In fact, that was why he left the doggy door unlatched at Night, ’cuz he never knew when the Dog’d need to get out for that reason.

Other than the hypoglycemia, Nikki didn’t have any medical conditions that could land him in the hospital, as far as he knew. If he _did_ have something like asthma or some kinda serious allergy–even a heart condition, for that matter–he’d never been diagnosed. Considering he’d survived over thirty-three Years without anything damn near killing him, he wasn’t too inclined to worry about it. Not only that, but he was an accepting enough Witch to know that Death was gonna come for him eventually, no matter what he did.

“That almost sounds more like an Air Witch’s train of Thought,” Bobby chuckled, squeezing both their hands.

“Well, my _Secondary_ Element happensta be Air,” the cop laughed. “So, while I might not be _quite_ as morbid as Duff, I still have my moments.”

“Hey–I resemble that remark!” their blonde boyfriend said, mocking offense.

“Settle down, blondie–I don’t wanna have to cuff ya for anything but one of the dirty Nights,” he told him with what could only be described as an Impish grin.

“Nikki, ya asshole!” Duff snapped, his own grin belying any true Anger. “We agreed not to talk about that in front of Bobby!”

“Ya act like he hasn’t done worseta me,” the paramedic snickered. “Or won’t eventually _do_ worse in the Future.”

“Oh, for the Love of the Gods,” he groaned, letting his head fall forward onto his thigh. “Shut up before ya make me lose my appetite for lunch!”

“There, there, Duffy,” Nikki snickered as he patted his back from across the bed. “You’ll come to grips with it eventually.”

All that answered him–much to the amusement of both brunettes–was a raised middle finger as he kept his face buried against Bobby’s thigh. Normally, having either of his boyfriends in such a position woulda been a bit more than suggestive to said younger, shorter brunette, but he felt like utter road kill at the moment. In fact, if he managed to get it up at all for a solid week, it wouldn’t be till he was dead asleep and Dreaming about one or both of them doing unspeakable thingsta him.

Not wanting to torment him anymore, the cop said he’d lay off before Duff’s brain needed to be bleached following a reboot. He honestly hadn’t been trying to embarrass him, nor gross him out to the point of losing his appetite, but rather get their shared submissive boyfriend to laugh. As far as he was concerned, laughter was the best medicine for just about anything, although he’d be the first to admit that sometimes, more than that was necessary. But the more they could get him to laugh–whether they were Natural jokesters or not–the better, ’cuz that’d actually help him Heal. It was a proven fact that being in a good mood versus a bad one while Healing helped as much as getting extra rest, after all.

Bobby was glad that his boyfriends’d decided to take the next couple weeks off work, considering they didn’t know exactly when he’d be discharged. Not only that, but even after he was sent home, they’d no doubt wanna make sure at least one of them was nearby, in case he needed anything. Even when he got sick of their mother Hen behavior–kinda like the blonde’d done after his combined asthma and panic attack–he appreciated the Thought. It proved to him that they loved and cared about him, despite being unable to show it publicly, and that was the kinda thing that _really_ mattered to him.


	10. Nine

It took a couple Days after he was extubated for Dr. Wolfe to feel comfortable doing such a thing, but Bobby was discharged a lot sooner than either of his boyfriends thought he’d be. Still, he agreed to spending the next week or so at his brunette boyfriend’s cabin, if only so he wouldn’t be alone, should he take a downhill turn. Besides, he just found it more Comforting to be in the presence of those who loved and cared about him when he wasn’t feeling good, and he still wasn’t feeling a hundred percent yet.

Nikki and Duff’d both taken a couple weeks off work so they could help him, not to mention keep an eye on him. Granted, the cop was technically working from home by giving a fresh set off eyesta a few cases that’d seemingly gone cold. One such case was that suspected arson Fire at the Silver Lake that’d started them down the path to even winding up Romantically involved. Everybody still suspected that the owner, Vince Neil, had purposely poured gas all over the floor that Night–although how he’d managed to cover up the scent, they didn’t have a clue. Unfortunately, they hadn’t actually found any evidence that’d get any chargesta stick, which was why the cop was going back over the files after months of having naught to do with it.

As he decided to take a break from going over the case files since his eyes were starting to cross, both his boyfriends catching a nap upstairs, he was a bit startled by a sudden knock on his front door. Shushing Whiskey as he grabbed him by the collar to keep him from darting out it or jumping on any callers, he managed to look out the sidelight next to it. If he hadn’t seen his own boss standing there, he prolly wouldn’t have opening it–despite there being a pair of kids there, too–since he didn’t recognize any of the other adults waiting as patiently as they could.

“Afternoon, Chief,” he said, hauling the German Shepherd back as he opened the door. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Lt. Sixx, these’re EMS Chief Eric Reagan and one Robert Kuykendall’s mother, Lynda,” Chief Abernathy chuckled.

“A pleasure,” the cop responded. “Lemme go get this big guy locked up, and I’ll be glad to dole out handshakes.”

“He’s not gonna bite, is he?”

Nikki managed to glance up and see what looked like a social worker gently gripping the shoulders of the two boys. “Nah, Whiskey won’t bite–he’s just excitable around new people sometimes.”

“Trust me, the Lieutenant’d shoot him, if he ever tried to bite anyone without a good reason,” his boss chuckled.

“Well, he’d just get put down, if I didn’t,” he retorted with a snort. “So, I might as well take care of it myself, if he ever does that.”

As he headed toward the stairs so he could lock Whiskey in the currently-empty guest bedroom, the cop waved his unexpected guests into the living area. He didn’t allow his brunette boyfriend’s supposed mother a chanceta argue with him before he warned her to just do what he said instead of giving him a reason to shoot her. Normally, nothing coulda made him issue such a threat right in front of his boss, but said boss knew how protective he was over who and what he cared about.

Once assured that nobody was following him, Nikki took his Dog upstairs and got him settled, then headed off to the master suite. Both his boyfriends were curled up under the covers, their chests rising and falling in almost an identical slow, even manner as they slept peacefully. He almost didn’t wanna wake them up, especially with how adorable their hair tangling together made them look, but he knew he had to.

Duff was the first to crack open his eyes, those hazel orbs kinda glazed like he was high with the remnants of whatever Dream he’d been having. Hearing that they’d visitors–at least one of whom wanted to see their shared boyfriend–made him nod, even as he yawned softly. Course, that shared boyfriend was stubborn about wanting to rise and shine, which wasn’t outta character for when he felt bad. If anything, it made both his more Dominant boyfriends think him even more adorable than they already did before he finally gave up fighting to stay asleep and pushed himself upright.

“Better’ve a good reason for wakin’ me up,” Bobby grumbled, his words slurring a bit as he shoved his hair outta his face. “’Cuz I was sleepin’ good, asshole.”

“Well, I _coulda_ brought your mother in without giving ya a chanceta put some clothes on,” the cop chuckled, unable to help a grin.

“Wait a minute–what?” he asked, looking surprised. “Mama’s here?”

“Well, that’s who Chiefs Abernathy and Reagan _say_ she is,” Nikki said, his own expression turning a bit skeptical. “For all I know, she’s your sister, but there’s no denying the resemblance between ya.”

“Fuck, Chief Reagan musta gotten in touch with her, and she decided to fly up and check on me,” the paramedic groaned, flopping back down. “Sometimes, I hate being the baby with a capital _hate.”_

“I know how ya feel, sweetheart,” Duff laughed, gently rubbing his back. “And it’s even worse with _my_ mom, if you’ll recall.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’ve to like it, either way,” he grumbled, pushing himself back up.

Both his Dominant boyfriends chuckled as he tossed the covers off himself, then his legs over the edge of the bed. Since he was wearing boxers, they didn’t bother ribbing him as he shuffled off to the master bathroom so he could take a piss. Course, that left them with lil to check out as they watched him, which made them share a grin before either of them moved.

Pausing to give his blonde boyfriend a quick kiss, the cop said he’d head back downstairsta let everyone else know they’d be down shortly. No doubt said blonde was gonna need a bathroom break of his own once Bobby was done, and they both needed to get dressed. It’d also be a good idea for the paramedic to have a hand getting downstairs, whether he wanted it or not since he was still getting winded a lil easier than normal. Since there were other things that needed his immediate attention, it was better for him to be the one to handle getting their shared boyfriend downstairs in one piece.

Heaving a sigh as he made it back down to his living room, Nikki raked his fingers through his hair as he turned to head into his living room. Now that he’d gotten a good look at them, he’d recognized the two boys that’d been waiting on his front porch, and he was pretty sure he knew why they were there. But before he dove into what was no doubt to be some hard questions, he at least took the Time to deal with the niceties like any decent human being’d do.

“I apologize for the wait, y’all,” he chuckled. “Lt. Sixx, at your service.”

“One of the best men on my force,” Chief Abernathy said with a chuckle of his own. “He won’t bend, let alone break any rules without a damn good reason, but he gets his job done like none other I’ve ever had the pleasure and Honor of working with.”

The cop in question couldn’t help his face heating up when all eyes turned to him. “Ya don’t have to sing my praises, Chief.”

“Oh, but I do,” he told him, a serious look settling over his face. “But why don’t we take this into another room, _hmm?”_

“No other rooms besides my kitchen unless ya wanna take it upstairs,” Nikki said. “Or outside, for that matter–which I highly _do not_ recommend since it’s a bit on the chilly side today.”

“Fair enough, Lieutenant,” the Chief agreed. “For your part in why I’m visiting today–”

_“Zio!”_ both boys cried in unison, finally breaking away from the woman who’d been gripping their shoulders in what looked like a none-too-friendly manner.

“Oh, _i miei nipoti_ – _venite qui e abbracciate il vostro povero zio!”_ he laughed as he knelt down.

“What on Earth?” the woman asked, looking startled and confused.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Chief Abernathy responded, wearing a confused look of his own. “I’m afraid I don’t speak Spanish, Greek, or Swahili.”

“That was Italian, ya goof of a Chief,” the cop chuckled, still holding the boys against his massive chest. “But I told them to get over here and give their poor uncle a hug.”

The woman who’d been holding their shoulders gave him a skeptical look, which was mirrored by his boyfriends as they finally came downstairs.

“Lemme guess–one Cecilyn Comer lost custody for whatever reason, right?” Nikki asked, easily staring her down.

“I–well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes,” she answered, nodding.

“Ten guesses, and the first nine don’t count as to why, if you’ve brought them here,” he said, glancing back down at his nephews. _“Piace ancora giocare al dottore, giusto, ragazzi?”_

_“Sì, Zio!”_ they answered, nodding enthusiastically.

_“Poi ti dirò cosa,”_ the cop told them with a grin. _“Signore_ Bobby’s _ha avuto recentemente dei problemi di salute…”_

“I don’t like the feeling I get from hearing my name in conjunction with a foreign language,” Bobby chuckled, although he grinned as he let their shared boyfriend help him settle next to his mother.

_“Ma è un paramedico, quindi non è sempre il miglior paziente,”_ Nikki continued, deftly ignoring his brunette boyfriend. _“Quindi, perchè I due di voi non si aiutano Signore_ Duff _e Signore_ Bobby’s _mamma fallo fare ciò il suo dottore gli ha ditto mentre sto facendo una chiacchierata?”_

“Oh, great–now he’s dragging _me_ into it, too!” Duff laughed, even as the boys nodded eagerly and ran over to them.

Letting out a laugh of his own as he rose back to his full, very imposing height, he assured them that he hadn’t said anything bad to them. If anything, he’d simply told his nephews the Truth, ’cuz if there was one thing any Healthcare worker _wasn’t_ known for, it was being a good patient. That made his shorter, brunette boyfriend roll his eyes at him, but thankfully, he didn’t make the mistake of flipping him off like he normally woulda done–which’d prolly be really bad right now.

Gesturing for Chief Abernathy and the woman who’d been holding onto their shouldersta follow him, the cop headed into his kitchen. Neither of them noticed when he waved his hand behind himself since his back was facing the archway leading to his living room, which erected a soundproof barrier to keep the others from overhearing. As soon as she’d answered his question a few minutes ago, he’d gotten a bad feeling about why this woman was here, and he doubted that his nephews needed to overhear their conversation. But he wasn’t about to let her mince words with him, ’cuz he hated beating around the bush as bad as he hated liars.

“Don’t try to mince words with me, or Chief Abernathy might be hauling me outta my own house in a pair of cuffs,” Nikki warned her. “No one else can hear what we say–just don’t ask me how, ’cuz I don’t feel like explaining it right now.”

“Well, you’ve already figured out that this involves your sister,” his boss sighed.

“My money’s going on her being dead,” he dead-panned.

“How didja–” the lone woman started, closing her mouth when he held up a hand.

“I’d my suspicions that that dick Ceci married was abusive,” the cop told her. “But even though I’ma cop by profession, there’s only so much I can do to get her and her boys outta harm’s way without breaking the very laws I swore to uphold.”

“He’s a point, Miss Whitfield,” Chief Abernathy said, nodding.

“Since she wouldn’t _lemme_ do anything to help her, and I couldn’t just go rushing into her place with weapons blazing, I forced her to make me a deal,” Nikki continued. “If she wouldn’t at least _try_ to leave that bastard, she wasta have paperwork drawn up making _me_ my nephews’ legal guardian in the event that they needed someone to take care of them ’cuz she couldn’t.”

“And that goes for Death as much as her simply losing custody,” she mused.

“Exactly.” He nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. “Our own mother lost custody of us when we were younger–she chose drugs and booze over her own kids, so I’ll be damned, if she gets her hands on my nephews.”

“And since their father’s now serving Time…” Miss Whitfield sighed.

“First-degree murder charges, Lieutenant,” his boss supplied when he turned a curious look on him. “Your sister went missing a week ago, but nobody realized it till her boss finally called the cops and sent them out to do a welfare check after she missed a full week of work.”

The cop simply took a deep breath that he let out in a slow, measured exhale as he gestured for him to continue.

“They found her body in the basement–ME estimates she’d been dead anywhere from three-to-seven Days,” he continued.

“Just give it to me straight, Chief, ’cuz ya know nothing pisses me off more than a liar,” Nikki told him.

“Based on the evidence so far, there’s no way it wasn’t her husband, and no way it wasn’t premeditated,” the Chief said in no uncertain terms.

From what the cops in Jerome’d found thus far, it was looking like his brother-in-law’d plied her with booze so she’d take whatever he’d given her as a sedative. Then again, it coulda just as easily been that he’d spiked whatever drink he’d given her with something so that she wouldn’t even known what he was doing to her. But the bodily injuries she’d sustained perimortem were indicative to him beating the utter shit outta her, whether she was incapacitated or not.

The cop was horrified and enraged to find out that his baby sister’d succumbed to a nasty blow to the head, which’d no doubt killed her on impact. Her skull was caved in at the back nearly to the point of kissing her sinuses, and the scene around her corpse was far from pretty. If there was one good thing, it was that Chief Abernathy refused to show him the crime scene photosta spare him having to see her like that.

But it was for that reason that his young nephews’d been brought to him by Miss Whitfield, who confirmed his unvoiced suspicion about being a social worker. Obviously, due to the paperwork that’d been drawn up Years ago, their paternal grandparents legally couldn’t take custody of the boys. Since their own mother was just as abusive, not even maternal grandparents could take custody of them in this case. That left them forced to get in touch with their uncle, ’cuz their only other choice was putting them in the system as orphans in need of a foster home.

“Like _hell_ will _i miei nipoti_ go into the system!” Nikki seethed. “That’ll happen over my own fuckin’ dead body!”

“Calm down, Lieutenant,” his boss snapped, turning a hard look of his own on him. “Nobody’s putting them in the system since we’ve obviously been able to establish contact with ya.”

“And no one’s gonna henceforth, either,” he told him. “Y’all get the hell outta here, and the first call I’m making is to my own attorney.”

“And why’s that?” Miss Whitfield asked, cocking a brow curiously.

“’Cuz I’ll just as soon name my friends in there–Lt. McKagan and EMT Dall–their legal guardians, in the event that something happensta _me,_ as let them be put in the system,” the cop answered. “And that goes double-Time for letting their shit-head father get _his_ hands on them again.”

“If ya trust those two, Lieutenant, who am I to argue your choices?” Chief Abernathy chuckled.

“With all due Respect, sir, I trust Duff and Bobby with my Life as much as I do any other cop at the Wolf Lodge Police Department,” Nikki said. “But I trust _only_ those two with two innocent boys who’ve nowhere elseta go.”

“Really?” the social worker asked, clearly surprised.

“Not even one of our newest hires, whom I’d consider a friend–Officer Ream–gets that kinda Trust and Respect outta me, and he’s prolly the first one at the station I’d list as having my back without question,” he answered.

“Then I’d say it’s settled,” his boss said. “Ya get all the paperwork signed and filed away, and they’re officially yours, Lieutenant.”

Nodding his agreement, the cop settled with the lone woman so they could go over all the paperwork that she’d dragged up here. He wasn’t surprised that Chief Abernathy insisted he be relegated to desk-duty for a while so he could get the boys settled in and adjust to being their legal guardian. That, and find someone to watch them when he was on-duty, considering that they’d obviously need a babysitter during that Time since his boyfriends obviously wouldn’t always be available.

Back in the living room, Bobby and Duff were happily entertaining said boys–who’d introduced themselves as Dean and Marco–as much as they could. Well, the former of that pair wasn’t quite entertaining them as much as being a somewhat unwilling patient for them and his shared boyfriend. At least it kept them from causing a ruckus when there didn’t need to be one, though, so he was willing to put up with it for a lil while.

It wasn’t long before Nikki’d signed all those documents and entrusted them to his boss so they could be faxed back down to Jerome. Course, that was after copies were made for him to pick up the next Time he was at work, not to mention a set for his own attorney. With that unpleasant part taken care of, he let down his soundproof barrier and saw at least those two out so they could be on their way. No doubt Chief Reagan’d stay for a while longer, if only to ensure himself of the shorter brunette’s Health before he finally headed back to the firehouse. And the Gods only knew that his younger boyfriend’s mother wasn’t gonna be going anywhere anytime soon, if she was as much a worry-wart as she was made out to be.

Looking up at him when he walked back into the room, the fireman and the paramedic were both curious as to what’d transpired. Shaking his head, he told them he’d fill them in later, prolly that Night after everyone else was abed and wouldn’t overhear anything they shouldn’t. He shot a look at the woman confirmed to be Bobby’s mother and said that he wasn’t necessarily excluding her, even though it was his own private business, but that depended on how long it took to get the boys down and how late she generally stayed up. Keeping her up past her bedtime when she was no doubt already fighting jet-lag wouldn’t be a good thing at all.

Chuckling as she nodded her Understanding, Lynda admitted that she was curious, but she respected that it was up to him who got told. She admitted that she was definitely feeling a lil fatigued, even now, and that the only thing keeping her up at the moment was having wanted to see her own baby boy. That admission brought a red tinge to the paramedic’s face as he groaned and reprimanded her, much to the boys’ amusement. But they couldn’t really blame her for feeling that way any more than they’d blamed Marie a few months ago when Duff’d wound up in the hospital overnight. In fact, it only Strengthened the brunettes’ opinion of her being a stellar mother, which couldn’t possibly be a bad thing. Even still, nothing more got shared between the trio of lovers, all of them Silently agreeing that it was better to wait till later that Night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this chapter in the works for months, but I got sledgehammered with Writer's Block about halfway through it. Having an idea, but an inability to get it come out ain't ever fun, but I still apologize to those who enjoy this story for the wait.
> 
> I make no promises about another update coming anytime soon, 'cuz that'll depend on how long the Creativity for this story lasts. Here's hoping that new seasons of the shows that Inspired this story in the first place'll help with that, but we'll see. For now, I bid y'all _adieu_ and Wish y'all happy reading and writing!  
> ~Firefly


	11. Ten

“So, aside from bringing Mama and Chief Reagan here since he obviously knows where ya live, what’d Chief Abernathy want earlier?”

Groaning as he lowered himself outta the full-body Cat-stretch he’d been in the middle of, Nikki chuckled as he locked eyes with his brunette boyfriend. Said man was settled in the middle of his bed, Duff on his other side, which was how they always wound up when both of them spent the Night. It was easier that way since he was the most submissive, and therefore loved being the _lil spoon_ when he was snuggled up to either of his taller boyfriends.

“Well, Dean and Marco’ve already been introduced as my nephews,” he chuckled as he made to join them.

“It’s still a bit freaky when they get to rambling in Italian, and then ya pop off right back at them at the same blistering pace,” his blonde boyfriend mused with a grin.

“Hey, _mia famiglia_ –my family–is Italian!” the cop defended himself with a laugh. “Kinda understandable that I’d know how to speak it as well as _they_ would!”

“Yeah, that’s definitely true,” he agreed, nodding.

“But as for the whole story…” Nikki sighed as he settled so that he was spooning his brunette boyfriend, who twisted his trunk just enough to see him clearly. _“Mia sorella_ was murdered.”

“I’m guessing _mia sorella_ means _my sister?”_ the paramedic queried curiously.

“Yeah, it does,” he answered with a nod of his own. _“Mia_ and _mio_ both mean _my_ –it’s just gender-dependent. The familial terms you’ll prolly hear all of us using the most’re _mammina, paparino, nonna, nonno, sorella, fratello, zia, e zio.”_

“Which mean _what,_ exactly?” Duff asked.

_“Mammina e paparino_ mean _mommy and daddy,”_ the cop started. _“Nonna e nonno_ mean _grama and grampa, sorella e fratello_ mean _sister and brother,_ and _zia e zio_ mean _aunt and uncle.”_

“Okay, that explains why they keep tacking _Zio_ on in front of your name, or just calling ya _Zio,”_ the paramedic chuckled.

Nodding his agreement, Nikki walked them through what he’d already known from before he’d moved up here in the first place. He was a few Years older than his sister, so he’d disapproved of the man she’d wound up marrying as far back as when they were dating. Rather than being a typical Italian, though, he hadn’t tried to stop the wedding since she’d assured him that that was what she’d wanted.

But looking back on it, he’d known from the Time his brother-in-law’d been introduced as simply her boyfriend that he was abusive as hell. Even his grandparents’d known that he was, which’d damn near unleashed his grampa’s authentic Irishman on the bastard more than a few Times. Course, he’d always stopped the man from going after his Future brother-in-law with his shotgun on the grounds of not wanting to have to arrest him. He’d known he woulda been doing her a great service, but he’d still have to make the arrest unless he’d been stopping him in the middle of an attack, and they’d both known it.

Sighing again as he made it up to the here-and-now, the cop told them what lil bit Chief Abernathy’d passed on to him once they were in the kitchen. Bobby was prolly the most horrified by what lil detail he was able to give them, if only ’cuz with his Primary Element being Water, he was Naturally more Emotional and sympathetic. Things like this always hit him a lil harder than it hit either of his boyfriends, but even the blonde was horrified enough to have to muffle a gasp.

“Dear Goddess,” Duff breathed, his hazel eyes wide as he covered his mouth.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Nikki agreed. “That’s why I’m not even trying to fight Chief Abernathy on relegating me to desk duty for a while.”

“Which’s abnormal behavior for you, if we’re all honest,” he said.

“Well, think about it–don’tcha think _you’d_ be in no shape to run into a burning building, if ya found out this kinda thing about one of _your_ sisters?” the cop queried.

“I know _I_ would be, and I’ve only the one sister,” their shared boyfriend admitted.

“Exactly.” He sighed again as the shorter brunette rolled over to face him, their shared boyfriend reaching over him to grab his hand. “Chief Abernathy knows me a lil too well sometimes. He knows that shit tendsta hit me hard and fast a lotta Times, but there’re some occasions where it won’t hit me till later on.”

“And if you’re out on a call when that happens…” The fireman shivered in horror at the mere Thought.

“I could get myself and a whole lotta other damn good cops killed, if that were to happen,” the cop said. “I know the two of y’all need me, but let’s face it–Dean and Marco need me even more right now.”

“We can’t have ya getting yourself killed when ya shoulda been behind a desk for a while,” Bobby agreed, gently nuzzling his throat.

“Besides, it gives me Time to ask around my neighbors and find someone willing to watch them when I’m on-duty,” Nikki told them. “I know you’d both be willing to, but you’re not always gonna be available to.”

“Which means ya need someone else lined up for when we’re on-duty, ourselves,” the paramedic said, nodding.

Nodding once again, he agreed that that was a solid point made to him by his own boss earlier that afternoon when they’d gone over all the paperwork. Aside from that, though, the boys needed him to hang around as much as he could till they got settled in so that at least one thing’d be familiar to them. They’d just made a move from nine hours away–nearly in Nevada or Utah, depending on which route one took–and were in completely unfamiliar territory, after all.

Even Duff was quick to nod his agreement and say that it was best they have a figurative pillar to lean on, so to speak. He couldn’t imagine having to pick up and move nine hours away ’cuz his mother’d been murdered, then not having anyone or anything familiar to him nearby immediately after such a move. Being completely honest, he said that it’d prolly send him into a panic attack that only sedation’d bring him outta.

Bobby was the one to point out that he could technically still work so that he wouldn’t have to worry about how he was gonna take care of the boys. If he was just gonna be put on desk-duty for the foreseeable Future, he’d prolly continue going over those old case files he’d been working on recently. Pushing himself up slightly so he could look down at him, he asked the cop how doing that from home till they’d all had Time to adjust was any different than doing it at the station. He might have to call in to get someone elseta look through evidence and find something for him, or simply wait till he got a chanceta go back to the station himself, but at least his cabin provided a quieter place for all that reading.

Careful to keep his volume down, Nikki couldn’t help a laugh as he admitted that he’d a very valid point there. Not only that, but he’d get a chanceta get some other shit done around the house that he normally just barely had Time for. After all, he liked to start collecting his firewood as early in the Year as he possibly could, and they’d all pitched in to start a Garden this Year. Their jobs didn’t leave much Time to work on those things, so they needed to do what they could when any of them’d the chanceta do so. But that could wait till after they’d all gotten some well-deserved rest and the shorter brunette was back to peak Health, if they were honest.

It took about a month for Dean and Marco to get completely settled in after making the move up from Jerome to live with their uncle, but they’d done it a lot quicker than anyone’d been expecting. They both acted like they’d lived up here their entire Lives, which certainly boded well for how they’d do as Time continued to pass. Course, getting used to having said uncle around all the Time was gonna take some work to rewire their brains from once he went back on full duty, but they’d be able to work on it.

During that first month after all the Changes in technically all their personal Lives, Bobby was able to go back to work as if his allergy hadn’t been triggered at all. That’d happened a week after the boys’d been put into their uncle’s care, just like they’d thought would End up happening. By that Time, he was able to do more around the taller brunette’s cabin, which meant he’d be able to handle the physical aspect of his job again.

The very Morn that Nikki finally headed into the station for his first Day back on full duty, his boyfriends were already at the firehouse. It was one of their three straight twenty-four-hour shifts before getting four Days off, provided that nothing serious happened and they were forced to be called in. For the moment, it was decently quiet and the teams were washing their various vehicles so they’d be clean and ready to go at a moment’s notice. No one dared to utter the dreaded _Q-word_ as they were working, though, ’cuz all of them were just superstitious enough to buy in to the Chaos doing that’d cause.

_“Station Five, Fire and EMS requested at mile-marker twenty-eight, Fourth of July Summit.”_

“Bets on it being some tourist that’s gotten hurt hiking up there in the Mountains again?” Duff chuckled as both crews sprang into action.

“I’d lay money on it,” the paramedic answered.

“If not that, then a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong Time who got caught up in another wreck,” he said.

“That’s pretty much all that ever happens up there, right?” Bobby asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” the fireman told him, climbing up into the Fire engine. “At least, that’s all _I’ve_ ever known to happen up there since I moved here.”

“Same here,” he agreed, nodding as he jumped behind the wheel of his ambulance.

Lights started flashing and sirens started screaming as he and his fireman counterpart both hit their switches at the same Time, then stomped the gas so they could take off. The location they were being called to was about halfway between them and the next Town over, which was called Canyon. Either the other Town didn’t have the equipment for such a call, or they were already responding and needed further assistance ’cuz it turned out to be worse than they were expecting.

As it turned out, the call was a lil worse than they were expecting, but not quite as bad as something that mighta been found in even Seattle. There’d obviously been a vehicular accident–which’d gotten even Nikki called to the scene–no doubt due to the wet road caused by a recent rainstorm. It appeared to be a big rig versus a sedan at first glance, but getting close enough to park allowed them a better view.

From what they could tell based on that better view, there were multiple vehicles involved aside from the first two they’d seen immediately. Unless they were all mistaken, there was actually a sedan crammed underneath the fifty-three-foot trailer of the rig from where it’d all but slid under said trailer. The vehicle honestly didn’t look like much of a car anymore–it looked more like the remains of a car after it’d been run through a car crusher at the local junk yard.

“Whaddawe got, Lt. Sixx?” Bobby yelled over the cacophony that’d already gotten stirred up.

“Big rig lost Control coming around that tight bend from Canyon!” the cop answered. “Skidded across both lanes and jumped the no-post about halfway up the entrance ramp on the other side!”

“Injuries and fatalities?” he asked, wanting to know so he could get out the right equipment.

“No fatalities, amazingly enough,” Nikki reported. “Trucker’s just a lil shaken-up, might have some bruises and the like, but doesn’t seem like anything _too_ bad.”

“Still needsta be checked out since head injuries can be sneaky like that,” the paramedic told him.

“Hence why you’re always called in, even if your services turn out to be more unnecessary than not,” he laughed.

“What about the driver of the pancake trapped under his trailer?” Bobby queried.

“Now, that’s the trickier part,” the cop admitted. “By the Grace of the Goddess, kid’s still alive, but none of us can figure out how.”

Glancing over from yet another angle, he couldn’t help a wince at what looked like a ripped-off roof bunched up between the car and the bottom of the trailer.

“He’s lucky he didn’t get his head ripped off along with that roof, but he’s amazingly conscious and talking,” Nikki continued.

“You’re shitting me,” the paramedic breathed, his eyes widening.

“Says his name’s Richie, and he was heading to a friend’s place closer to Wolf Lodge for a pit stop on his road trip,” he told him. “That’s why I wantcha to hang back and let Bruce and Duff cover medical for a few minutes.”

“What–Why?” Bobby asked, now looking confused.

“Not sure if I’m just jumping to conclusions or not, but–well, he said his friend’s name is Bobby,” the cop answered. “You’re the only Bobby I know of in Wolf Lodge, so I don’t think I am, but…”

“Dear Goddess–Richie!” he yelled, refusing to be kept away from the scene as he took off with his bags.

“Well, _that_ certainly went well,” Nikki sighed, taking off behind his shorter, brunette boyfriend with Officer Ream on his own heels.

At the scene of the crushed car, the paramedic was able to worm his way through the wreckage and debris so he could crawl under the trailer. He’d just barely paused long enough to find out if Duff and the Fire crew’d reinforced the trailer so it wouldn’t fall on anyone’s head, then worked his way under it once they said they had. Considering who was in the driver’s seat of the mangled car–or at least, who they _thought_ it was–he wasn’t about to be kept away for the sake of protocol.

Sure enough, although it was hard to tell at first, the face of the driver belonged to an old friend of his from when he’d lived in Pennsylvania. Richie was several Years younger than him, but the poor kid had been bullied in school to the point that _somebody’d_ to step in sooner or later. None of the teachers seemed inclined to do that, so he’d finally taken it upon himself one afternoon when they’d all been walking home from school together. Ever since then, he’d a stronger bond with the younger man than either of them had with their older brothers, and he couldn’t live with himself, if he _didn’t_ do everything he could to help him now.

“B-Bobby,” the younger man whimpered, turning his head toward him.

“Hey, hey, hey–don’t move, kiddo,” Bobby told him. “We don’t wantcha worsening any potential spinal injuries by doing that.”

“Gotta make sure you’re actually here,” he chuckled. “Kept thinking I saw ya already, but the blood loss musta been fuckin’ with my head.”

“Unfortunately, that’s all too common in cases like this,” the paramedic said. “We’re gonna getcha outta there as soon as humanly possible, all right?”

“Won’t be soon enough for me,” Richie told him. “Can’t feel my legs, and I’m not sure if that’s from a spinal injury, or the dash crushing them.”

“Could be a lil bit of both, honestly,” he mused. “I just needja to keep talking to me so we can keep ya awake while the firemen’re working on getting ya outta there, all right?”

“Just don’t call my mom till _after_ I’m outta here,” the younger man laughed, which made him wince in pain. “Bad enough she’s gonna have to be called, but at least get me outta here before ya do.”

“That’s how it always goes, kiddo,” Bobby chuckled, starting to dig through his kit. “Let’s get an IV going so we can get some fluids in ya, all right?”

He didn’t bother trying to bite back another chuckle as he managed to fish his left arm outta the wreckage for him to get to. That certainly made things a lil easier, especially since he simply stuck it through the mangled wreckage so it was between the car door and the cab’s frame. It was a lil riskier doing that, but it’d make extricating him later easier when they didn’t have to fight to pull his arm, as well as IV lines and fluid bags back through the window.

Duff managed to crawl underneath the wreckage of the trailer that was really only supported by the big rig’s fifth wheel and some massive Air bags his crew’d set up. In being trained as a paramedic, he could help both his shorter brunette boyfriend and his own partner, as well as jump in for the extrication. Course, that wasn’t including jumping in to help put out any blazes that were sparked by the rig’s batteries suddenly arcing.

Luckily, there were no sparks or arcing at the moment from either of the mangled vehicles, and nobody’d smelled any fuel. That boded well for them being able to get the young man out alive, which’d certainly be a good thing, considering how his Day was obviously going right now. But getting that young man out alive was gonna be a helluva challenge since they’d to get his car door sawed off, then pulled outta their way. And that wasn’t including getting the remains of his dash off his legs so they could be freed without having to amputate them on-scene. If anything was gonna be harder than any other part besides keeping the trailer from coming down on them, it was gonna be that.

The paramedic veritably snarled at both his boyfriends when they realized he’d more of an Emotional connection to their patient than they’d realized. He made it quite clear that he’d made Richie and the young man’s mother both a promise when the poor kid was around the age of eight that he’d protect him, or die trying. Since there was obviously no protecting him from the actual wreck, he was gonna do everything in his Power to get him out alive. If that meant ultimately dying _with_ him–well, he obviously didn’t want that to happen, but at least he could say he’d kept his word and went out in a Noble manner.

“Just back the fuck off and lemme work, Duff,” Bobby growled. “’Cuz you’re not getting me outta here unless I’m unconscious andja drag me out.”

“I’d listen…to him,” the youngest man managed to chuckle. “He’s as stubborn…as I’ve ever been.”

“Too well I know it since we work together, kid,” the fireman laughed. “Just stay with us, and we’ll getcha outta there.”

“Trying, but…it’s starting to go fuzzy,” Richie told them.

“Shit, that’s not a good sign,” the paramedic said, now starting to worry as his blonde boyfriend scrambled back out from under the wreckage.

“I need jaws and saws over here _yesterday,_ damn it!” Duff yelled, his hands cupped around his mouth.

“Got ’em, Lieutenant!” one of his probies answered.

“Kid ain’t got much longer, if we don’t get him outta there,” he told him. “He’s already lost a lotta blood, and while Bobby’s doing what he can to get his vitals up, there’s not much he _can_ do with him still pinned.”

“Let’s get on it, boss,” the probie–Blues–said.

“Nikki–Rikki! We could use some extra hands over here!” the fireman yelled.

“On it!” the cop responded, turning to dart over with his partner right behind him.

“Jeez, fuckin’ giant, much?” Blues chuckled as they readied the saw he’d hauled over.

“You’d be amazed where I can squeeze myself into when I feel like it,” Nikki laughed. “And I’m not talking dirty when I say that, either.”

“He’s really not,” Bobby told them. “I found him squeezed into one of the tightest spots in his house one Day, working on his hot Water heater, and thought I was gonna have to call in half my own crew to get him out.”

“Wait, you’ve seriously been over to Lt. Sixx’s house?” he asked, his brows rising in surprise.

“Went over for a drink a couple Times, and to help him get his nephews moved in recently,” the paramedic answered. “But let’s focus on getting Richie outta here, not whose house I’ve been over to and when.”

“Ten-four, good buddy,” the probie agreed with a nod.

After getting the door pried the rest of the way open with the jaws of Life that’d been brought over for them, the pair of firemen got to work on cutting it off its hinges. That was where the pair of cops came in, ’cuz they were able to keep the door steady so they could get it sawed off without it falling on anyone. Granted, that put them–especially the Lieutenant–into some pretty uncomfortable positions, but it was better than the alternative.

Just a few minutes later, they finally had the door off so they could get a better look at Richie below his chest and waist. From what they could see now, it didn’t look like his legs were pinned as badly as they’d originally thought they were. That meant that his lack of sensation and ability to move was prolly more so from a spinal injury, but they couldn’t discern how bad of one.

Luckily, between Duff, Bobby, and Bruce, they were able to get him out and onto a back board without making said spinal injury any worse. The poor kid couldn’t help screaming in pain as they did that, though, which was understandable since they were pretty sure he’d at least a couple broken ribs. Naturally, that landed him with an oxygen mask on his face once they’d him laying flat, ’cuz that pain obviously caused him a bit of trouble breathing. And the lil bit of blood and fluid that wound up in his throat–which was quickly suctioned out–certainly didn’t help with that part.

Once he was out from under the remains of that trailer, the paramedics got Richie loaded onto a stretcher so he could be hauled over to the ambulance. The nearest trauma center that could handle his injuries was further West in Coeur d’Alene, so they’d a bit of a drive ahead of them. All they could hope for was that their patient didn’t take a turn for the worse on the seventeen-mile drive to said trauma center, considering the extent of his injuries. Course, that was exactly why the blonde fireman jumped up front to drive while both paramedics settled in the back with him. He was stable for the moment, but it was better that they both be on hand, just in case he suddenly started going South on them. They could be working on stabilizing him while the final man kept driving, if the need for such a thing were to arise.

Leaning over so he could see his upside-down face clearly, Bobby swore to him that he wasn’t leaving him, even after they arrived at the hospital. When he’d reminded both his boyfriends–whom he hadn’t admitted were such–of the promise he’d made him as a child, he wasn’t kidding around. Besides, they both knew that he was actually one of this young man’s Powers of Attorney, should he ever wind up in the same area. It’d be better for him to clock out and just stay at the hospital for a couple different reasons, and that was one of the biggest. Even still, it brought a smile to his patient’s face, which allowed him to relax as much as he could on his trip almost to the State line.


	12. Eleven

Just as they’d pulled into the ambulance bay at Kootenai Health, Richie’d taken a downhill turn that none of the paramedics were expecting. Despite his injuries, he’d managed to stay conscious up to that point, but that was when his eyes’d rolled back in his head and he was out. Even as Bruce and Duff’d rolled his stretcher into the ER, his friend straddled his prone form to give him chest compressions before they lost him altogether.

As it turned out, his spleen’d been injured in the crash that very well coulda ripped his head off, so it’d been leaking the entire Time. It was something that couldn’t have been detected out in the field, so Bobby tried not to let that particular bit of news from the surgeon currently up to his elbows in him get to him. The really good news was that that particular organ hadn’t completely ruptured till they’d pulled up at the hospital, so he hadn’t lost nearly as much blood as he coulda. Gods only knew that if it’d ruptured any sooner, he’d no doubt have been hauled straight to the morgue, rather than into the ER.

Thankfully, he’d already clocked out from right there in the hospital, ’cuz whether he was his friend’s closest Power of Attorney or not, he couldn’t focus worth a shit. If he were out in the field continuing to answer calls when his Thoughts were totally on his young friend, he’d get a lot more people killed a lot quicker. As far as he was concerned, it was no different than when Nikki’d first found out about his sister’s murder, and how he’d accepted that it was better for him to be on desk-duty.

“Bobby!”

Jerking his head up from where he’d it cradled in his hands, he looked around and spotted both his boyfriends–who were still in their uniforms–running toward him.

“How’s he doing, hon?” Nikki queried as he settled on one side of him.

“His spleen ruptured just as we got into the ambulance bay,” the paramedic answered. “Nikki, I–”

“Hush, now.” He gently grabbed him for a hug, Duff rubbing his back from the other side. “Ya _didn’t_ lose a patient, friend or otherwise, and that’s what matters here.”

“I dunno what I’d have done, though, if I’d lost Richie since he _is_ a friend of mine,” Bobby admitted.

“You’d have grieved like any other human being, and then gotten up, dusted off your ass, and thrown yourself right back into your job to make sure it didn’t happen again,” the cop told him as he pulled back slightly.

“’Cuz that’s just the kinda guy ya are at heart,” his blonde boyfriend chuckled. “Combine that with your profession, and I know damn good and well you’d react that way.”

“Didja get in touch with his folks, though?” Nikki asked, concern furrowing his brow.

“Yeah, yeah–I got in touch with Mama Georgine,” he answered, nodding. “She and his dad–Rich, Sr.–should be on a flight out from Penn right now.”

“Ya know how long it’ll be?” the fireman asked. “’Cuz one of us can go get them since they’ll prolly be flying into Spokane.”

“She said they were heading for PHL as soon as she got off the phone with me,” Bobby told him.

“PHL–that’s in Philadelphia, isn’t it?” Duff queried.

“Yeah, ’cuz that’s where Richie’s from,” the paramedic answered, nodding. “I’m willing to bet it was a connecting flight, though, considering it’s over twenty-five hundred miles by car, if one takes the fastest route.”

“No doubt about it,” Nikki agreed. “Hell, I’m sure you’d a connecting flight when ya moved up here from Miami, if we’re honest.”

“Yeah, I did,” he chuckled, somehow managing a smile. “First landing was in Memphis, then Rapid City, South Dakota–after that, it was a straight shot into Spokane. But without counting Time spent in each airport waiting for my connecting flights, it was still upwards of seven hours between Miami and Spokane.”

Nodding, his taller, brunette boyfriend agreed that the youngest man’s parents’d prolly wound up with a flight that’d at least one connection. Even if it’d two or three between their home and the closest major airport, they’d still prolly be up in the Air for upwards of seven hours. They were flying in from the same side of the country as where the paramedic’d flown from, after all, so it was only logical to think their flight’d be just as long.

Still, the cop pushed himself up from his seat and said he’d head into Spokane to pick them up from the airport once they landed. His shift’d Ended not long after they’d cleaned up the mess left by the wreck, so his only other choice was heading home for the Night. While his nephews obviously still needed him, a quick call to his neighbor–who was their babysitter when he was on-duty–would keep them from freakin’ out and thinking that the worst’d happened to him. Both boys were smart and compassionate enough to understand why he wasn’t coming straight home to them, which was a good thing.

In the meantime, the fireman was gonna stay with their shared boyfriend to keep his head on straight while he was awaiting an update. Said fireman’d already clocked outta his own shift early, citing that he’d known one of the victims and wouldn’t do them any good on anymore scenes today. Even though that wasn’t quite the Truth, he _was_ still more than a lil affected by knowing that this kid was special to one of his boyfriends, and he didn’t wanna wind up on the wrong End of trouble.

The wait after Nikki’s departure seemed like it was Endless, but eventually, the surgeon who’d been working on Richie came out to give them that update. He’d a bit of a resigned look on his face that Bobby didn’t like before he could ever sit down with them, but he warned him not to try mincing words. If he couldn’t handle whatever it was that he’d to tell them, he was in the wrong profession since he oft dealt with far worse than this before a patient could ever make it to a hospital. Sure, it’d prolly hit him a bit harder since this was a friend he’d known since he was a lil kid, but he wanted to hear it straight. If nothing else, he could start figuring out what to do with said friend till it was safe for him to go back home to Penn.

“It’ll be a while before he’s stable enough for that, I’m afraid,” the surgeon–Dr. Whitewood–sighed.

“For the Goddess’ sake, just fuckin’ lay it on me!” the paramedic demanded. “’Cuz you’re really starting to piss me off with all the beating around the fuckin’ bush!”

“Your friend’s stable, and while not quite critical, he’s closer to that End of the spectrum than not,” he admitted. “We’ve stabilized him so that his ruptured spleen’s not a problem now, but it’s his spine that we’re more worried about how.”

“Just how bad is it?” Duff asked. “And don’t gimme that doctor-patient confidentiality bullshit, ’cuz if _you_ won’t tell me now, Bobby’ll just tell me later.”

“Lt. McKagan’s one of the firemen who helped get Richie outta the wreckage, anywhore,” Bobby told her. “I think he deservesta know how he’s doing since he was just as much _his_ patient to start with.”

“If nothing’s done to repair the damage done to his spine at waist level, he’ll never–and I do mean _never_ –walk again,” the surgeon explained. “We couldn’t do anything just yet, ’cuz he needsta get some rest and Heal at least a lil bit, if we want him to _stay_ stable.”

“Makes senseta me,” the paramedic said, cutting off his boyfriend when he made to say something. “Ya gotta remember that the human body can take only so much all at once. If they’d kept going in an attempt to repair his spine right now, it very well mighta cost his _Life_ from his body trying to keep up with them most likely removing an organ among other Life-saving measures.”

“He’s a point, Lt. McKagan,” Dr. Whitewood agreed. “I’m not saying we’ll let him Heal on his own to the point that there’s nothing we can do–we just need to give him a few Days so his vitals stay stable while he’s under, or all your efforts’ll be for nothing.”

“Fair enough,” the fireman acquiesced, even though he obviously wasn’t happy about it. “I didn’t spend all that Time cutting him outta that pancake, only for your team to kill him on the table.”

Nodding again, he continued by saying that they were gonna be keeping him in the ICU, considering what he’d been through. Even though he was stable for the moment, that unfortunately didn’t mean that Richie’d _remain_ stable through the Night. There was always a chance that a patient could take an unexpected downhill turn just when they were looking like they were gonna be just fine, and this young man was no different from any other patient in that regard.

In the meantime, the surgeon said he’d go back and make sure he’d been settled in the recovery room he was being taken to for his anesthesia to wear off. Once he was settled, he’d come back to get the two of them so they could be his overnight visitors since none of his family’d shown up yet. After all, he’d no doubt that one of them could get in touch with said family, if they hadn’t already done so during their wait.

Sighing as he leaned back in his chair, Bobby finally reached up to yank loose the elastic band that he’d tied off his braid with that Morn. Keeping it tied back now was only worsening the headache he’d started to get right about the Time he’d clocked out, and he knew that wasn’t gonna do anything but turn him into a mean sum-bitch later on. Only getting rid of his headache was gonna make him of any useta anyone when the Time came, and he damn well knew that. Just like he knew his blonde boyfriend had a point in saying that he needed food as much as he needed sleep, if he wanted to be of any useta his friend.

Roughly three hours after being taken to Richie’s room, the paramedic awoke to someone gently shaking his shoulder. Grunting as he cracked open his eyes, he saw a blurry vision of Nikki’s face in front of him, a small amount of amusement coloring his expression. Pushing himself into a sitting position quickly reminded him that he’d been in a recliner at his friend’s bedside, so he imagined he prolly looked silly right now.

“Hate to wake ya up,” he chuckled, careful to keep his volume down since Duff was still asleep.

“Ya pick Richie’s parents up?” Bobby queried as he sat up even more.

“We’re right here, Bobby.”

Glancing behind his taller boyfriend, he saw the couple in question and shot them a smile. “Wish we were being reunited under better circumstances, Mama Georgine.”

“Don’tcha even say that, Bobby,” the middle-aged woman told him as he got up to give her his seat. “It’s ’cuz of you and your friends why our baby boy’s still alive now.”

“Uh, there’s more to it than that, but not here,” the paramedic said.

“Got something to do with…um…?” her husband started, clearly cutting himself off outta Respect.

_“Everything_ to do with that,” Bobby answered, nodding. “And if we wanted it getting out, we’d scream it from the rooftops, ourselves.”

“Fair enough, son,” he agreed with a nod of his own. “So, what’s his prognosis?”

Sighing as he dragged his hands down his face, he told them exactly what he’d been told by Dr. Whitewood a few hours ago. Naturally, they didn’t like hearing that without further surgery, their younger son’d never walk again, but they were grateful for his Honesty. Even when nobody else woulda wanted to be honest with them, they could count on this young man to be just that, whether he wanted to be or not. He didn’t have a dishonest bone in his body, as far as they knew, and that was something that’d never Change about him.

But aside from their son’s prognosis, there was one major question that his parents both wanted answered as soon as possible. They couldn’t remain out West forever so he could recover properly, and both wanted to know just how long it’d take before such a thing happened. If it was gonna take longer than they could stay out here without moving, they needed to know so they could help with making arrangements for his care. After all, they weren’t gonna expect his friend to take care of him, especially if the aftermath of his wreck was gonna leave him disabled for Life. It wasn’t the paramedic’s Responsibility, and they didn’t want him feeling like it was such when he wasn’t actually related to him.

Laughing softly, just in case he’d started coming to without showing any signs of it, Bobby assured them that he didn’t mind doing such a thing. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to just quit his job to be his caregiver, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take Time off again. And even if his boss objected to that, it didn’t mean that he couldn’t put in the paperwork to work only half-shifts so that he worked the same amount of Time as Nikki, rather than his typical twenty-four-hour shifts. That might get him relegated to things like taking inventory of their supplies and cleaning the firehouse, but he’d take it till Richie recovered enough to do without him.

“Or till we can find a home-Health nurseta hire to do that for all of us,” he said. “Whichever happensta come first.”

“He’s a point, hon,” Rich, Sr. mused when his wife looked like she wanted to argue.

“I mean, my boss’ll no doubt gimme a hard Time about taking Time off so soon after getting back to work,” the paramedic admitted.

“What–why wouldja need to take Time off recently?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“Got stung by a Bee while I was out on a call, so it was more by doctor’s orders than by my own choice,” Bobby chuckled. “Ya both know how allergic to Bees I am.”

“That, we most certainly do, son,” the middle-aged man agreed with a chuckle of his own.

“I got cleared to go back to work three weeks ago, which’s the only reason my boss’d gimme shit over it,” he continued. “If it’d been longer than that, he’d approve my request–no questions asked–’cuz this is the second Time since I was hired since I’ve had or chosen to take Time off.”

“And you’ve been up here for, what–four Years now?” Georgine queried.

“Almost five now, but yeah.” The paramedic nodded. “Like I said, my boss won’t try to fight it since he knows I wouldn’t put in such a request, let alone my two-week notice, without a damn good reason. He’ll just gimme shit about seemingly not being able to stay outta trouble, but he’s a good guy.”

“So’s the guy in charge at the station,” Nikki agreed with a grin. “Chief Abernathy’s lemme have off all the Time I needed for when Duff wound up in the hospital a few months back, then when Bobby was outta work for that week or so. And don’t even get me started on when I wound up with custody of my nephews right after Bobby’s discharge.”

“The guy technically in charge of Duff–Capt. McDay–tendsta be pretty much the same way,” Bobby chuckled. “Easy-going, laid-back guy who doesn’t really care, as long as his men’ve a damn good reason for calling out or requesting Time off.”

“We don’t have a good reason for it, though, and he pretty much makes us a probie again for a week, at the least.”

Both brunettes chuckled as Duff sat up in the chair he’d been snoozing in, his blonde hair a mess as he stretched his arms over his head.

“So, I wouldn’t worry about the three of us getting in trouble with our bosses, if we need to take Time off to help your son,” he told them. “We’re obviously not gonna take Time off all at the same Time, but we _are_ gonna do what we can to help him till he can go home–if he ever choosesta, that is.”

“Any friend of Bobby’s is a friend of ours,” the cop assured them. “And if we’re gonna band together to help each other, we’re gonna extend that to each others’ friends, too.”

The youngest man’s parents couldn’t help relieved smiles as they settled in the now-open chairs and encouraged all three first respondersta head home and get some rest. It wasn’t a matter of whether they trusted the fireman and cop or not–as long as their son’s friend trusted them, they were willing to extend the same Trust. Knowing that he’d be taken care of–even if they’d to go back East sooner than they wanted to–was enough to make them sleep easier.

In the meantime, even the paramedic agreed that heading home’d prolly be for the best for all three of them, even though they didn’t wanna. All three of them’d been up for far too long, and even though he and Duff’d caught naps, they weren’t very restful due to the circumstances. He just requested that the middle-aged couple tell their son he’d be back to visit him sometime the next Day as he gave them both hugs.

Luckily, both Georgine and Rich, Sr. assured him that they’d let their son know once the anesthesia wore off completely and he woke up. Since none of them knew when that’d be, it was anyone’s guess whether that’d happen sometime overnight or in the Morn. Nodding his agreement, he gave them one last hug before allowing himself to be led out by both his boyfriends. He wasn’t sure whose, but there was _a_ bed several miles away from here that was calling his name, and he could hear it loud and clear. The Thought of a soft mattress and warm bedding nearly put him back to sleep on his feet, which amused Nikki and the fireman as they headed out to the former’s patrol car.

Shortly thereafter, all three of them trudged into the cop’s cabin since it was the closest to the hospital they’d just left. Dean and Marco’d fallen asleep on the couch, both apparently having been determined that they were gonna wait up for their beloved uncle to get home. Thankfully, said boys didn’t try to fight being put to bed once they assured themselves that he was, indeed okay. In fact, they let out adorable yawns as they let his boyfriends pick them up and carry them upstairs while said uncle escorted their neighbor home. After that was taken care of, he joined the others so they could get showered and into bed for another long Day tomorrow.


	13. Twelve

The next afternoon, Bobby stepped off the elevator on the floor that housed the ICU at Kootenai Health, but he’d a couple extra visitors with him. It’d been his turn to pick Dean and Marco up once he got off work, but since he’d taken that Day off to get his head back on straight, it woulda _become_ his turn, if it hadn’t already been. For that reason, he’d brought the boys with him to visit his friend, now that he shoulda long since been a-wake from the anesthesia he’d been given for his emergency surgery.

Being a part of the Healthcare system, he usually got a few more perks as a part of his job than a lotta other folks got. One of those perks was being able to bring kids under the usual age limit to visit someone, as long as they were proven to be perfectly healthy. He still had to follow the same rules and leave anybody who was sick at home, but in this case, he could bring the boys with him–they just had to make their visit short.

Luckily, both boys understood that their being here right now was a privilege, and that it was granted to them due to his profession. They swore they’d be on their best behavior so they wouldn’t get him in trouble with his boss _or_ the hospital’s higher-ups, which was just what he wanted. Well, that was aside from getting to see his friend awake and coherent, ’cuz that was the only other thing that the paramedic wanted. Hoping that said friend was actually awake, he quickly knocked on the door of his room a couple Times before pausing to await a response.

“C’mon in!”

Chuckling as he opened the door and herded the boys ahead of him, Bobby was glad to hear his friend’s voice. “Hey there, Richie!”

“Bobby!” the younger man chuckled from where he lay in his hospital bed, the back raised to support him. “Mom and Dad saidja were coming to see me, but they weren’t sure when.”

“Yeah, I’d to call in and take an impromptu Day off this Morn,” he told him as he settled in the chair next to his bed. “Still a bit shaken after yesterday, and that’d affect my performance, if I dared go out on a call without getting to see ya again.”

“I can imagine so,” Richie agreed, mindful of the cannula shoved up his nose as he nodded. “I mean, it’s not every Day thatcha answer a call and find out it’s your childhood friend caught up in the Insanity.”

“Last Time I came anywhere near close, Duff stumbled across a Fire on his way home one Night and triggered an asthma attack,” the paramedic chuckled.

“Which one was that–or was he even there yesterday?” he queried.

“Duff was the blonde that started hollering from the saws and jaws right before we started cutting ya out,” Bobby answered.

“Oh, yeah–now I remember,” the younger man laughed, wincing as he grabbed at his belly. “Ow–don’t make me laugh right now!”

“What happened to your friend, Mr. Bobby?” Dean asked, a curious look on his face as he and his brother both cocked their heads.

Letting out a laugh of his own as he paused long enough to introduce the three of them, the paramedic tried not to get _too_ graphic with his explanation. The best he could come up with was that he’d been in a car wreck that coulda easily killed him, which was definitely the Truth. However, beyond that, he wasn’t sure how much Nikki’d want them to know since they were obviously pretty young.

When they kept needling him, Bobby finally sighed and said that he was lucky he didn’t get his head torn off in the wreck, ’cuz that obviously woulda been really bad. In fact, it was a miracle and made him wonder how he’d managed to avoid that since it hadn’t seemed like it woulda been possible. As it turned out, Richie’d simply ducked down as low as he could when he saw the outta-Control big rig coming at him. That certainly explained all the bruising to his chest when he’d cut open his shirt to get him on a monitor after getting that first round of fluids started, though.

“Prolly why I’ve a couple broken ribs, honestly,” he sighed. “But I’d rather have broken ribs and be missing a spleen now than to have my head torn off like a kid’s toy.”

“I’m sure we all would, if we got caught up in that kinda wreck,” the paramedic agreed, nodding.

“I mean, it still sucks that I can’t feel anything from the waist down right now,” Richie admitted. “But I guess I’d rather even be a paraplegic than to lose my Life.”

“What’s a para–para–” Marco tried to ask, unable to get that one word out.

“Being a paraplegic means he can’t feel or use his legs,” Bobby explained. “Most of the Time, that happens when somebody hurts their back really bad–like when he got into that wreck yesterday.”

_“Ohhhh,”_ the boys breathed, nodding as they settled so they were sitting on his knees.

“Far as I know, his doctor said they were gonna try to fix that,” he continued.

“They said it’d be a couple Days, at the least,” Richie supplied with a chuckle. “Gotta gimme Time to make sure putting me under anesthesia again isn’t gonna hurt me.”

“That’s the medicine I toldja they give folksta make them take a nap when a doctor’s to cut them open,” the paramedic chuckled when they looked up at him. “If the doctors do that too soon, it might make his heart stop while they’re trying to fix his back, and we don’t want that.”

“No, ’cuz that’s _pessimo,”_ the older of the boys said.

“If ya just said that that’s very bad, then you’re right,” Bobby told him.

“It’s technically _molto brutto,_ but _pessimo_ works, too,” his friend chuckled.

_“Parli anche Italiano?”_ his lil brother queried, his eyes widening in surprise.

_“Sì, parlo Italiano,”_ Richie answered with a grin. _“Mia madre è Italiana, quindi sono cresciuta parlandola.”_

_“Proprio come la nostra mammina e lo zio!”_ Dean said excitedly.

_“È così, eh?”_ the younger man asked. _“Non ricordo se ieri ho incontrato tuo zio, perchè c’erano molte persone che me hanno aiutato dopo il mio naufragio.”_

“I swear, I’ma have to get these two and Nikki to teach me more Italian,” the paramedic laughed. “’Cuz I don’t have a clue what any of ya just said beyond a couple words.”

Grinning in lieu of laughing since he didn’t wanna make his pain flare up again, he translated the basic gist of their short conversation for him. That made his friend laugh again as he shot him his own grin and informed him that he most certainly _had_ met the boys’ uncle. He prolly just didn’t remember due to the Chaos of the scene as they were cutting him outta what remained of his car when they pulled up on-scene.

“He was one of the cops that held the car door as it was being cut off,” he told him.

“I know there were two cops who wound up saddled with that duty,” Richie said, a thoughtful look on his face. “A blonde that I _think_ had blue eyes, and a brunette who seemed awfully hunched-over.”

“Their uncle’s the brunette, Nikki,” the paramedic chuckled. “If I’m lying, I’m dying, but the guy’s six and a-half feet tall in his bare feet.”

“You’re kidding me,” he chuckled, careful to watch his mouth due to the presence of children.

_“Zio’s_ really tall!” Marco giggled. “It makes playing _Airplane_ fun!”

“He doesn’t even have to stretch to touch the ceiling in our cabin!” his brother agreed. “Well, the lowest spots–even _he_ can’t reach the highest without a ladder!”

“He’s ten-foot ceilings in his cabin,” Bobby explained. “And I know, ’cuz I tend to spend as much Time there and at Duff’s place as I do at home.”

“When you’re not on-duty, that is,” the younger man said. “My question’s why, unless you’re his nephews’ babysitter when he’s busy, but you’re not?”

“We’ll get into it once ya get discharged,” he assured him. “Not entirely _my_ newsta tell, but even if it was, this isn’t the place for it.”

Richie’s eyes widened as he immediately got it, ’cuz he was one of the few who knew he was gay before he’d moved up here. “I gotcha, man.”

“Course, _I_ got a question for _you,”_ the paramedic admitted. “What on Earth’re ya doing out here in Idaho?”

“Well, I was Intent on road-tripping my way out to California since I’d wanted to make a career outta Music,” he answered. “Figured if I was gonna head West, I might as well drop by for a visit while I was out here.”

“Guess those plans’re at least postponed, but better that than canceled altogether,” Bobby said.

“If I can ever learn how to walk again, they might just be canceled,” the younger man told him, a bit of a sheepish note entering his voice.

“Why on Earth wouldja do that, though?” he queried. “Ya love playing guitar, and you’ve a helluva voiceta go with that skill.”

“That wreck kinda made me rethink that a lil once I woke up,” Richie admitted. “I mean, if I can relearn how to walk, I might just go into your career field, whether it’s here in Idaho or elsewhere.”

“Man, it’s not an easy job to have,” the paramedic warned him. “You’re faced with all sortsa things that’ll scar ya for Life, if you’re not careful.”

“What’s worse than seeing an innocent child die, or getting called out to a wreck and finding out one of the victims is your childhood friend?” he asked. “”Cuz unless there’s worse than that, don’t sell me short on what I can handle since we both know I’m tougher than that.”

Holding up his hands in surrender, Bobby assured him that he wasn’t trying to steer him away from that particular profession, if he was really _that_ set on it now. All he was trying to do was make him realize that it took a lot more outta any man or woman who entered it to be able to hack it. Nothing’d ever stick in his craw as bad as letting his childhood friend get in over his head, if he coulda prevented it by more or less telling him a few horror storiesta give him a different perspective.

The younger man rolled his eyes and reminded him that a lot could Change over the course of even a few Years. One such thing was that he’d wound up being his grama’s live-in caretaker from the age of sixteen, which was part of why he’d wanted to come out West. He’d watched that poor woman continuously go downhill till she’d finally lost her battle, and he’d wanted to distance himself from ever having to go through that again.

It might be a lil twisted of him, but Richie was pretty sure that having to see that kinda thing on the job wouldn’t be nearly as bad. Sure, it’d affect him in the sense of wanting to work harder to avoid losing yet another patient, but it wasn’t like the agony of having to watch’d be drawn out for as long. And even if it turned out that such a career wasn’t for him after all, he could always quit before he took it too far and figure out something else. But that all hinged on him eventually regaining his ability to walk since that’d make or break any decision he made in that regard.

“Yeah, that’s definitely true,” he agreed. “I mean, as it stands, the best you’d get would be the firehouse receptionist, or a dispatcher with the county.”

“Which’d suit me just as well, if that was the best I could get from being stuck in a wheelchair,” the younger man told him. “’Cuz what else could I possibly do like this–start IVs and push anything that needed to be? That’s only part of the job I’d rather be doing right now, and I know it.”

“That’s if ya didn’t go into counseling to help others in this state learn how to cope with it,” Bobby pointed out.

“Man, we both know I suck at giving advice!” he chuckled. “I mean, I’d have Dean and Marco twisted around ten waysta Sun’s Day, if I were left alone with them for too long!”

“I should hope not, kid, ’cuz I don’t wanna have to break ya again after ya get put back together.”

_“Zio!”_ the boys in question squealed, squirming down outta the paramedic’s lap as the man in question entered the room.

_“Vi state comportando Signore_ Bobby?” the cop queried on a chuckle as he knelt down to hug them.

_“Sì, Zio!”_ Dean answered, nodding enthusiastically.

_“Signore_ Richie _sa parlare Italian come noi!”_ Marco added, his own tone just as enthusiastic.

_“È così, ragazzo?”_ he asked, smirking as he looked up at the youngest man.

_“Direi decisamente,”_ Richie answered with a chuckle of his own, easily recognizing his unspoken challenge for what it was. _“Come ho ditto loro, mia madre è Italiana, quindi sono cresciuta parlando.”_

“It was my grama who taught me and _mia sorellina,”_ Nikki laughed. “’Cuz our mother lost custody of us when we were young, or I’d have prolly wound up being an addict instead of a cop.”

The paramedic cocked a brow since one word sounded similar, but not quite like he was used to hearing come outta his mouth.

_“Sorellina_ means _lil sister,”_ he translated with a grin. “And _fratellino_ means _lil brother.”_

Laughing along with him, Bobby admitted that he’d been trying to decide if he should ask or not since he obviously didn’t speak any foreign languages. He hadn’t wanted to make himself look like a dunce, though, considering that his friend _coulda_ taught him more, but he’d moved away before he’d gotten the chance. Still, his question’d gotten answered without him having to ask it, so he was more than happy with the End result.

Turning his attention to said friend, the cop didn’t bother to hide his own Curiosity about how he was feeling after the Day he’d had. He was glad to hear that other than being sore and frustrated with being bedridden at the moment, he was feeling pretty good. Obviously, the chest pain from his broken ribs’d affect his mood, but he didn’t seem to be letting even that get him down. If he _was,_ he was pretty damn good at hiding it from even one of his closest friends, but he didn’t think that was the case. After all, his brunette boyfriend was pretty astute, so he usually picked up on that kinda thing when a lotta others wouldn’t–it was just a matter of whether he called a person out on it.

Grinning as he managed to shift himself a bit, Richie admitted that he was well aware that his friend was like that more often than he wasn’t. They’d known each other for going on fifteen Years, so he’d long since gotten used to not really being able to hide anything from him. If there was anyone who could tell he was lying about something better than his own mother could, it was his friend. There wasn’t any sense in trying to hide anything from him, ’cuz it was only a matter of Time before he called him out on it.

Nikki shot him a grin of his own as he hefted both nephews up so they were settled on his hips, ever mindful of the service weapon still holstered on one side. He said that it was edging on suppertime for these two, so he’d be better off getting them back to his cabin before they got too hungry. Besides, it’d give him some Time to hang out with his friend where they wouldn’t have to watch their mouths for their sake. In addition to that, the nurse manning the nurses’ station’d told him she’d only let them go a lil over the limit she’d told them before, ’cuz they seemed pretty well-behaved.

“Yeah, the worst they’ve done was get a lil excited when they found out that Richie knows Italian, too,” Bobby reported with a chuckle. “Other than that, they’ve asked a couple questions here and there, but that’s about it.”

“I can safely say that _Zio’s_ proud of _i miei ragazzi,_ then,” he chuckled. _“Che ne dici di tornare a casa e cenare, eh?”_

_“Sì, Zio!”_ Marco answered enthusiastically.

_“Il pranzo è stato tanto tempo fa!”_ his brother was quick to add.

_“Poi saluta Signore_ Richie, _e vedremo di portarti a trovarlo di nuovo prima che possa tornare a casa,”_ Nikki told them.

_“Ciao, Signore_ Richie!” Dean said, waving to him.

_“Guarisci presto!”_ the younger of the boys told him as he gave him a wave of his own.

_“Ci vorrà un po’, ragazzi, ma alla fine ci arriverò,”_ Richie chuckled as he Returned the wave.

“Getting some rest’ll help with that, kid, so we’ll get outta your hair for now,” the cop told him.

“Behave for your uncle and Mister Duff,” his brunette boyfriend said, shooting the boys a stern look. “’Cuz I better not get a bad report when I get home later, or I’ll make ya eat Asparagus again.”

Both boys mock gagged and swore they’d behave, ’cuz they didn’t want a repeat of the Time they’d earned Asparagus with their dinner as a punishment. With that having been said, the cop told him they’d see him back at the cabin unless he called and said he was heading to his own for the Night. He doubted he’d chooseta do that since he loved hanging out with everyone else, but there were a few Times that he needed some Time to himself and would do just that.

Turning back to his friend once they’d left and closed the door behind them, Bobby heaved a sigh as he settled back in his chair. He reiterated what he’d said earlier about this not being the place for a certain conversation, but made it quite clear that he hadn’t misheard what he’d said about seeing them back at home. It was just something they didn’t want getting out, so they didn’t talk about it much outside any of their cabins.

Richie nodded and said that he could hold his questions till a better Time, ’cuz it wasn’t like he was going anywhere anytime soon. Gods only knew that he hadn’t been discharged yet, and even if he got one of his parentsta wheel him outta here before he was, it prolly wouldn’t End well. No doubt that’d cause the very thing he _didn’t_ want, which wasta wind up a permanent paraplegic, since he wouldn’t get the surgery he still needed to fix his spine. And even _after_ he was discharged, he doubted he’d be cleared for a cross-country flight back to Penn right off the bat. He was pretty sure he’d get told that he was better off staying with his friend for a while, which’d give them more than enough Time to talk.

After a couple more hours, the paramedic told him that it was prolly Time he headed out, himself so he could get some rest. Provided that he wasn’t at work while he was still in the hospital, he promised to visit him till he was sick to Death of seeing his face. Once that discharge was made, his cabin was more than open to him for as long as he needed it, if that turned out to be necessary. But that was something else they could talk about later, and his friend nodded his agreement as he let out a soft yawn. With his goodbyes bid for the Time being, he shot him another smile as he turned to head out, just glad that he was gonna be all right.


	14. Thirteen

_“All available medical requested at 3002 South Molsteads Lane for possible epileptic seizure.”_

Bobby’s eyes widened as he heard that call over the radio he’d installed in his truck so he could call in anything he happened upon while he was out and about, just like his boyfriends’d done in their own trucks. Unless he was mistaken, he knew exactly who was in trouble and why–and it wasn’t ’cuz of an epileptic seizure, if he was right. He needed to let his crew know what they were _really_ dealing with, even though he was off-duty since he’d taken another personal Day for Richie’s bittersweet homecoming, now that it’d been a couple weeks since his wreck and he’d been discharged from the hospital.

“Dispatch, this is unit one-two-four,” he said after grabbing his mic off its hook, much to the surprise of his friend and the younger man’s parents. “What was that address again?”

_“3002 South Molsteads Lane,”_ the dispatcher–Grace–answered. _“I thought you’d taken a personal Day, though, one-two-four.”_

“I did,” the paramedic chuckled. “Who was the caller requesting help for, or do ya know?”

_“Uh, twenty-nine-Year-old white male,”_ she answered after a short pauseta check the record of what she’d typed into the system when the call came in. _“The woman said she was his_ fiancé.”

“Hey, Bruce–ya got a copy on here?” Bobby queried, hoping he got the response he was wanting.

_“Yeah, I got a copy, man!”_ his partner answered seconds later.

“If that patient’s a blue-eyed blonde, check his sugar before ya do anything else,” he told him, knowing the dispatcher was still listening to the radio traffic.

_“Any particular reason why?”_ Bruce asked, sounding curious.

“’Cuz if I’m right, that’s my neighbor, and he’s diabetic,” the paramedic chuckled. “I’ve been telling him he needed to lay off the drinking and other crazy shit he does before _this_ happened to him.”

_“Ten-four, partner!”_ he said. _“Thanks for the heads-up, ’cuz we coulda done some real damage!”_

“No shit, and Susie–his _fiancé_ –isn’t the brightest bulb in the box,” Bobby laughed. “I swear, that woman’d mistake her big toe for her thumb, if somebody didn’t correct her.”

_“Have ya told her that if a person’s sugar drops too much, they can start seizing?”_ his partner queried.

“Too many Timesta count,” he answered. “But apparently, she needs an earplug in one ear so it’ll stay in instead of flying in one ear, and right back out the other.”

_“Hey, at least_ you _know your shit,”_ Bruce chuckled. _“Ya on your way home or something?”_

Letting out another laugh, the paramedic said he’d prolly be pulling in at about the same Time they did, ’cuz he hadn’t long left Kootenai Health again. In fact, depending on how long it took to get his neighbor stabilized for transport and who all was answering this call, they might before able to give him a hand before they left. While he wouldn’t say why outta Respect for his friend–just that he was capable of doing it on his own, if need be–some of their gear’d come in handy, if it was necessary.

Sure enough, pulling into his driveway the next house up, Bobby spotted the very same ambulance he was usually driving–or at least riding in–when it was out on a call. Judging by how Bruce and Duff–who was the only other one available for this type of call–were just climbing out, he knew they’d arrived only moments before him. That wasn’t exactly a surprise, though, ’cuz he hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that he’d prolly be pulling in at about the same Time they did. Glancing over at his friend, he told him he’d be back in a few minutes, ’cuz he was curious about exactly what kinda trouble his neighbor’d gotten himself into this Time.

Just as he’d suspected, the blonde man who looked like he was gearing up for another seizure was his neighbor, Bret. The man’d told him not long after moving in that he was a Type I diabetic, and had gotten his diagnosis around the age of six. He didn’t normally let his sugar get quite _this_ outta Control, but he’d been grateful to find out that he was living next door to a paramedic, just in case something happened to him.

Considering that he wasn’t actually on-duty and couldn’t get away with touching their equipment, he took on the mammoth task of dragging his neighbor’s _fiancé_ back. She was hysterical and tried to fight him every step of the way, but he managed to drag her far enough back that his partner and boyfriend could get to work. Barking in her ear that if she didn’t move, the blonde really _was_ gonna die on the floor of his house got her to be a lil more cooperative, but not by much. Thankfully, it was just enough for the other pair to get to work on him, Duff getting him on a monitor while the much shorter blonde set up to test his blood sugar like he’d told him to do.

“Damn, how the fuck’s he still alive?” Bruce asked, his eyes widening as he read the glucometer display a few moments later.

“What’s it down to?” the fireman countered as he glanced up at him.

“Fuckin’ fifteen, man!” he answered, dragging out what he needed to get him on a glucose drip. “No fuckin’ Wonder he’s seizing like an epileptic!”

“See, Susie? This is why I tell ya to fuckin’ _listen_ to me when I give ya advice on something,” Bobby told the woman he was still holding back. “If I hadn’t heard that call on my way home, they’d have lost him, ’cuz they wouldn’t have known he’s diabetic, not epileptic.”

Said blonde woman’s face turned a deep shade of red from obvious embarrassment.

“He’ll be fine since Bobby _did_ hear that call and gave us that lil bit of advice, though,” Duff assured her. “It’ll just be a while, and he’ll _definitely_ spend at least a couple Days in the hospital for monitoring.”

“We wouldn’t want his sugar to drop and land him right back in this state all over again, after all,” the midget of a paramedic said.

“Check him again, Bruce,” the fireman said after a few minutes of letting that IV run wide open. “The sooner we can get him into Coeur d’Alene, the better for him.”

Nodding, Bruce did just that, and all three men grinned when their patient let out a grunt at feeling his finger being pricked again.

“Well, _that’s_ definitely a good sign,” the lone brunette man chuckled.

“He’ll prolly regain consciousness on the way to Kootenai Health,” he laughed. “He’s up to thirty now.”

“Still too low to kill the drip and just let him stay home,” Bobby mused. “But at least it’s coming up, which’s what we want.”

Nodding their agreement, both of the first responders started to work on getting Bret packaged up for transport. They needed to get him to the hospital before he took a downhill turn that they _couldn’t_ handle out here in the field since that was the best thing for him. And now was the Time to do such a thing, considering that he was far more stable than he’d been upon their arrival.

After dragging him out on a stretcher and getting him loaded into the back of the ambulance, Duff paused long enough to find out what his shared boyfriend had been up to. He was ecstatic to find out that Richie’d been discharged from the hospital, now that he’d Healed enough from the reparative surgery on his spine. That answered what woulda been his next question, which was why on Earth he and the shorter paramedic might be able to help before they left to wrap up their call next door. No doubt he could get his friend in on his own, but it’d be niceta have help, especially if it’d be better to make use of their back board.

Luckily, between Bobby and his fireman boyfriend, they were able to get the young man outta his truck and into his house without needing to use that back board. Granted, they’d to settle him on the couch so the pair of blondes could get their _actual_ patient to the hospital, but that was just fine. His boyfriend could handle getting him into his wheelchair once he was ready for that without help since he usually had to do far worse when he was on-duty.

“I’ll see ya later, once I clock out,” Duff told him.

“That’s if ya don’t wind up having to work a double,” he chuckled.

“Whaddaya think I’m already doing?” the fireman laughed.

“Get outta here and go get Bret the help he needs!” Bobby told him with a grin. “Otherwise, my oath might go out the window when I bonk him for not listening to me!”

“We can’t have that, now,” he said. “You’ll get fired quicker than if we try to switch jobs!”

“Hey, I’ma trained firefighter, too!” the paramedic laughed, shooing him out his front door. “I just like the medical side of the job better!”

Still laughing in his own right, Duff headed back out to the ambulance so he could drive while Bruce was handling their patient’s care on the drive into Coeur d’Alene.

“So, that was one of your boyfriends, huh?”

Turning back toward his living room after closing and locking his front door, Bobby nodded. “Yeah, the fireman–Duff–was one of them. The cop, Nikki, is the other.”

“Damn, you’re seriously dating both at once?” his friend chuckled, unable to help a grin.

“Well, it started out as me and Nikki,” he answered as he moved to get his wheelchair set up for him. “I mean, pretty much everyone at the firehouse was derogatory in the shit they said to me, so I wouldn’t have taken any flirting from Duff seriously at first.”

“Makes senseta us,” Richie mused, nodding as he gestured between himself and his parents.

“But Duff was just as interested in me, and he finally approached me about it,” the paramedic continued. “Next thing I knew, he was hooking up with Nikki the same way he hooked up with me–in a BDSM sense, that is.”

“Wait, really?” his friend queried, his eyes widening in surprise.

Laughing as he nodded, Bobby recalled how his brunette boyfriend had sat him down to talk to him about that part on one of their Days off when the fireman’d wanted some Time to himself. He’d adamantly refused to sleep with one, if he wasn’t ready to sleep with the other, so he’d made the blonde a sorta deal. That deal’d worked out well enough for them, so none of them’d tried to argue or Change the terms of the agreement, as it were.

Grinning at his friend, he told him that he wouldn’t have to worry about overhearing something he shouldn’t or didn’t wanna. When he said his cabin was open to him, he hadn’t meant like that–there were waysta get around having a temporary roommate who couldn’t get away from such things on his own. More than likely what’d happen was that he’d take him over to Nikki’s so he could stay with the cop’s nephews, which’d give him a lil extra help, if and when he needed it. After all, the boys’d obviously need a babysitter, and said babysitter could help him grab anything he needed, if he actually needed a hand.

Richie’s expression shifted to a thoughtful one as he pondered that idea, ’cuz he certainly didn’t wanna overhear any of his private shenanigans. But he wasn’t gonna demand that he give up such an integral part of his Life when he wasn’t working, whether he was into guys, girls, or both. That just wasn’t fair, especially since he coulda allowed him to wind up in a nursing home at the age of twenty-one during his physical therapy.

“I wouldn’t have done that since it’s not like you’re comatose and have a reason to stay in the hospital long-term,” the paramedic told him. “We’ve been friends for too long for me to relegatecha to something like that.”

“I know, butcha know I’ve a point,” he chuckled. “Ya didn’t _have_ to open your houseta me while I’m more or less stuck here–ya did that, ’cuz ya wanted to. So, whereddaI get off on telling _you_ whatcha can and can’t do in your own house?”

“I’d just tell ya get fuck off and get even louder about whatever it was that I was doing,” Bobby said with a grin. “And that if ya didn’t like it, ya better learn how to like sleeping with earplugs.”

“Too well I know it,” the younger man laughed, his parents joining his laughter. “You’re an ass like that sometimes, but overall, you’re one of the best friends I could ever ask for.”

“Hey, I madeja a promise when ya were in the single-digits, and I Intend to keep it one way or another,” he told him. “If that woulda meant dying with ya, ’cuz that trailer’d come down on both their heads–well, I meant what I said when I told Duff to lemme work, ’cuz he wasn’t getting me outta there unless I was unconscious and he’d dragged me out.”

“That’s the kinda Dedication we need outta more of humanity,” Georgine chuckled.

“But especially our first responders, like you and your boyfriends,” her husband added.

“Not saying that any of our other coworkers _aren’t_ that dedicated to what we do, but Nikki, Duff, and I damn sure are,” Bobby admitted. “We’re the crazy ones that dive into just about anything, even when the others’re standing back thinking, _Man, this is too dangerous for me.”_

“You’re shitting me,” his friend laughed.

“Fuck, no,” he said, unable to help a grin. “Nikki’ll take off after a perp armed with a rifle on a dirt bike just to keep a campground safe, Duff runs into blazing buildings and all sortsa other crazy shit that most wouldn’t, and I’m the one who gets bit by ornery patients at Times.”

“Oh, ya _gotta_ tell us the story of that one,” Richie told him with a grin of his own.

Laughing as he continued to get his friend’s wheelchair set up for him, the paramedic was more than glad to do just that. He easily recalled that one case the Autumn previous, just a week after they’d responded to that call at the Silver Lake that all three of them still thought was a disguised arson case. It was the same call where the cop’d chased down a suspect–who turned out to be one of the local cokeheads, Tommy Lee–on a combination of his feet and a dirt bike. That same suspect was the one who’d bitten him as he was trying to treat him once he’d been apprehended, ’cuz he’d been whacked-out on coke at the Time.

Bobby’d a few other wild tales that he could tell while he was staying with him, but for the moment, he wanted him to get a chanceta check out his new environment. That’d also give him a chanceta get used to having to wheel himself around, as well as tell them what limitations the cabin’d prove to have. After all, the wheelchair was narrow, but the halls and a couple doorways might not be quite wide enough for it.

Richie was more than agreeable to that, ’cuz he was definitely curious about the cabin and its layout, which he wouldn’t deny. One good thing was that while it was a two-story cabin, there was a suite on the first story that’d hopefully be perfect for him. As long as he could maneuver his wheelchair into the Spaces he needed to, he’d be able to get around more or less on his own. It’d certainly offer him a measure of Independence that he both wanted _and_ needed right now, if it proved to work out. The only thing he should really need help with’d be bathing–for obvious reasons–and changing his catheter since he was still getting the hang of doing that on his own.

Luckily, it turned out that he could maneuver through the first story just fine once they’d gotten him into his chair. All the counters and appliances were low enough for him to manage cooking on his own, so he didn’t always have to rely on his friend or anyone else for that, either. But it was certainly something he could get used to quicker and easier than a nursing home or medical facility, even when he _did_ need help. They just hoped that he wouldn’t need help for _too_ long before he could go back to living completely on his own.


	15. Fourteen

_July, 1991_

It’d been a couple months since Richie’s Life-Changing accident, and he’d made amazing progress after the surgery he’d undergone to repair his spine. Most folks who suffered an injury from the vertebra T-9 down usually took a lot longer to so much as regain sensation in their lower extremities, if they ever did at all. For him to not only be able to _sense_ things from below the point of his injury, but have minimal motor function below that point was a damn good thing.

One of the hardest parts–even before his parents’d Returned to their home outside Philadelphia–was getting him through his physical therapy. It wasn’t that the younger man didn’t wanna do it, ’cuz if there was one thing he wanted, it wasta get back on his feet without needing some form of help. Unfortunately, once they managed to get him on his feet, there was only so much that Bobby could do to help him on his Days off. After all, he could support his weight while he was baby-step shuffling around the cabin for a while, but he couldn’t do it forever. He’d eventually get just as tired and need to give his arms and trunk a break as much as his young friend needed to give his legs a break sooner or later.

That’d led to a spark of Inspiration they were trying out for the first Time today, but it’d taken quite a bit of planning and a bit more money than that. After pulling his boss aside during one of the quieter moments at the firehouse, the paramedic’d managed to work out something that wasn’t necessarily just for his friend. He’d managed to talk Capts. Reagan and McDay into something that could be beneficial to others in the Future.

His idea to help Richie with his physical therapy on his Days off wasta have a pulley system installed on the underside of the Bridge that spanned the garage side of the firehouse. Once that pulley system was installed, they could attach one of the harnesses that the crew used when they’d to repel down into Mountain ravines on rescues. That Bridge could support a lot more weight for a lot longer, which’d take some of the strain off the poor paramedic. But if any of his crew ever suffered a similar or identical injury in the Future, it could be used the same way for them, too, so it’d more than pay for itself eventually.

“You’re sure about this, man?” Richie queried as he came around to get him into his wheelchair for the moment.

“Do ya wanna stay in that chair forever?” he countered with a grin. “’Cuz ya know, I could always _let_ Capt. Reagan kick my ass for talking him into something that’s not gonna get used for Years at best, otherwise.”

“I’m not gonna kick your ass, Rob.”

Chuckling as he looked up, Bobby saw the very boss in question coming out with Duff and his Fire equivalent behind him. “Morn, Capts. McDay and Reagan.”

“Morn to you, too, Rob,” his boss chuckled. “Figuredja could use a hand right about now.”

“Ah, it’s not like Richie’s five hundred pounds and I’m trying to pick him up on my own,” the paramedic laughed. “Honestly, he’s a lil _too_ skinny for not being as ripped as Duff and I.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark!” he laughed. “And I’m not deaf any more than I’m morbidly obese!”

“No one ever saidja were,” Duff told him, grinning as he ruffled his hair. “But we all know how constant heavy-lifting can take a toll on the body sooner or later.”

“I could use the break, or I wouldn’t have talked Capt. Reagan into this oddball system to help with your physical therapy,” Bobby admitted. “As long as you’re not gonna be picky over who touches ya, that is.”

“Not right now,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, they’re just getting me outta the truck and into my chair, so what’s the point of being picky over it?”

“That’s the Spirit, kid,” the Fire Captain chuckled. “Capt. McDay–I handle the Fire side of the firehouse.”

“Great to meetcha, although I Wish it were under better circumstances,” the youngest man told him.

“Hey, at least it’s not the same ones _I_ metcha under,” the fireman laughed as they got into position to get him outta his friend’s truck.

_“Touché,_ man,” Richie agreed with a laugh of his own. “But I’ma lay down _one_ law right now that I don’t think anyone’ll blame me for.”

“And what’s that, son?” Capt. Reagan queried, a brow cocked. “’Cuz I’d like to know before we getcha inside and any boundaries get crossed from us not knowing about them.”

“Only Bobby’s touching me to get me harnessed up, and _especially_ catheter changes,” he answered firmly. “I’ll let Duff help him with those, if need be, but otherwise…”

Nodding their agreement, both Captains were more than agreeable to those terms since they wanted him to feel as comfortable as possible. They both knew from personal experience that the harness they were gonna be putting him in was already uncomfortable enough. After all, it was gonna pull on his pelvis in an odd manner compared to anything he was used to, and if he’d never used it before–well, it was gonna leave him a bit on the uncomfortable side. There was no reason to add to that by subjecting him to having someone he wasn’t familiar with help him with something so incredibly personal.

Both firemen let out a grunt as they hefted him up to his feet, his arms wrapped around them so they acted as living crutches for him. While Capt. McDay was about the same height, Duff was a bit taller, so it pulled him up a lil higher on one side, but they were able to work with it. If anything, they couldn’t help their surprise when he actually managed to help them get him over to his wheelchair with a couple small steps.

Richie heaved a sigh of relief as they got him settled, the blonde fireman kneeling down to get his footrests positioned properly for him. Once his feet were supported so they wouldn’t be dragging on the concrete, they gave him a minute to catch his breath before the EMS Captain grabbed the handles of said wheelchair for him. Chuckling as his Fire equivalent unlocked the brakes on the chair, he told him to just relax while he was wheeling him into the firehouse. He’d be exerting a lot more Energy once they got him harnessed up and on his feet, so he might as well take the chanceta relax while it was available. And he made it clear that he wasn’t trying to baby him, ’cuz he could already tell he wasn’t a man to tolerate that kinda shit.

Laughing as he got the wheelchair parked so he was outta the way, the youngest man admitted that he’d pegged him perfectly by guessing that. Even when he was a lil kid more or less trailing behind his older brother, he’d hated people butting in when it wasn’t necessary. Maybe he was a lil too Independent for his own good sometimes, but that was just how he’d always been, and he doubted that’d ever Change. Then again, he didn’t necessarily _want_ it to Change, especially if it got him back on his feet and much further in Life.

“I mean, Bobby still thinks I’ma lil nuts, but it can’t serve me in bad stead, if it gets me into a career as a paramedic, now can it?” Richie laughed.

“That’s assuming we getcha back up on your feet _without_ having to use a harness,” Duff told him with a grin.

“Well, yeah–I fuckin’ know that, man,” he retorted with a grin of his own. “But considering that I _originally_ wanted to get into Music…”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a musician, either,” Capt. Reagan chuckled. “Ya just gotta watch out for certain scenes, ’cuz ya can get caught up in a lotta trouble, if you’re not careful.”

“I should know,” the blonde fireman told him. “I’m from Seattle, and the Music scene there could getcha into a _lotta_ trouble.”

He couldn’t help cocking a brow up at him.

“Kid, I knew some folks as long as you’ve known Bobby and longer who got caught up in heroin for various reasons,” he sighed as he squatted down to his level. “The last one–he was my best friend, and he died of an OD right in my arms. That was part of why I moved here to Wolf Lodge, why I wanted a new start.”

“No one ever saidja had to go into full detail, son,” Capt. McDay said, reaching down to squeeze his shoulder.

“I wasn’t gonna, sir,” Duff assured him. “I’m just saying that Seattle’s Music scene’d its dirty side, and from what I hear, LA’s is no better.”

“Fair enough,” Richie mused, nodding. “Nobody ever said it was as glamorous as it looked on TV and in the movies, or that it was easy.”

“No easier than these lines of work, either,” both Captains laughed in unison.

“Difference is, you’ll be putting in a lot more physical work as a fireman, paramedic, or both than you’d be putting into the Music scene unless ya were a roadie there,” the EMS Captain pointed out.

“Well, either of those goals gimme something to work toward,” he told them. “’Cuz I can’t be a firefighter or EMT from a wheelchair, and I refuseta be a rock star in one, ’cuz I don’t want the fuckin’ want the pity.”

Even his friend couldn’t help a laugh, a grin on his face as he joined them with the harness he’d gone to get so he wouldn’t be taking gear off one of the trucks that might be necessary at some point that Day. Bobby reminded him that none of the guys here were gonna pity him–if anything, they’d be cheering him on just like he, the blonde fireman, and both their bosses would. If they dared try pitying or mocking him, he doubted said bosses were gonna reprimand them for kicking the guilty guys’ asses.

Capt. Reagan chuckled and said he’d turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, as long as they weren’t on county-owned property. If they were to do any such thing while they were still _on_ county-owned property, he’d be forced to write them up, even if they agreed with them. He could totally understand wanting to protect and stand up for his friend, but there were certain things he’d to do as his boss, or he’d lose his own job.

The paramedic grinned at him as he admitted that he knew he was right, but that was just his protective bent coming out, as he readied that harness. But his expression was quick to harden as he looked first the EMS Captain, then the Fire Captain dead in the eye. He swore he wouldn’t go into detail, whether Richie was sitting right in front of him or not, but he’d promised to protect him Years ago. That promise was kept when he’d gotten him outta the wreckage of his car, but plenty of other Times over the Years since it was made, and he wasn’t falling through on his word now.

“The long and short of it, I was bullied as a kid,” the youngest man told them when they looked curious. “Bobby was the only one who stood up for me when I was eight, even though he was fifteen at the Time.”

“Damn near got my ass expelled from school when I fought a brat who turned out to be a fifth grader ’cuz he was closer to my size and picking on Richie,” Bobby laughed. “But I made him and his folks a promise that very Day that I was gonna protect him, or I was going down with him.”

“Thirteen Years later, and we still look out for each other like that,” his friend chuckled. “Course, we’re closer to each other’s size now.”

“Hence why it’s so easy for me to pick ya up like a rag doll,” he told him, grinning. “I pick up that and worse all the Time, occasionally with help.”

“Yeah, like when you’re moving a back board,” the blonde fireman said as he moved behind his friend’s wheelchair.

“Otherwise, I just take on that infamous fireman’s carry and throw them over my shoulder like a sack of Taters,” Bobby retorted. “Just get him up enough for me to get this harness under his ass once I get it pulled up his legs.”

“Roger that, medic,” he chuckled, gently grabbing him under his arms.

Richie managed to lift his legs enough to make that part easier on his friend, but it clearly wasn’t easy for _him_.

“All right, Duff–get ready to lift him,” the paramedic said.

“On a count of three, kid,” Duff told him as he made sure he’d a good grip. “One…two…”

“Fuck, I hate this!” he snapped, doing what he could to support his own weight as his friend pulled the harness up over his hips.

“We know ya do, kiddo,” his friend reminded him, his voice taking on a Soothing tone as he motioned to his blonde boyfriend to set him back down gently. “But the harness’ll help with that once we getcha up again, ’cuz at least if your legs give out for a minute, ya won’t fall.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s a good thing,” the youngest man acquiesced with a grumble.

“Hey, it’ll help with your Confidence since you’ll have the reassurance of having an automatic catch, if ya _do_ start going down,” the fireman said. “And building your Confidence up’s gonna go as far as building up your leg muscles again.”

Both Captains agreed with him wholeheartedly as Bobby continued getting him harnessed up by dragging said apparatus up his torso. If there was one thing they’d learned well over the Years, it was that physical strength only went so far–the rest was made up by mental and Emotional strength. He needed to believe that he’d get back up on his feet without that harness eventually, or he’d never do it, no matter how much he worked on building up his leg muscles again.

Nodding, Richie took a deep breath and wheeled himself underneath the Bridge he was about to be strapped to, a determined look on his face. He was determined to do this–particularly without any help–’cuz he knew they were right in what they all said. While it was prolly a lil stupid of him, he needed to prove to himself that he could actually get up and walk without their help.

His friend attached the harnessta the line that was attached to the pulley system on the Bridge over their heads, then gave him a nod. Returning the nod, he ignored the sudden crowd of firefighters and EMTs that’d gathered to watch as he took a deep breath. That determined look in his Sea-blue eyes only grew as he reached up to grab hold of the line attached to his harness. But he was still grateful for the moral support of his friend–not to mention the waiting hands of his boyfriend–as he tightened his grip and got ready to haul himself up to his feet.

“Whoa there, cowboy,” one of the firemen laughed as he stepped forward. “I wouldn’t do that without these, if I were you.”

“Hadn’t thought of that,” the youngest man chuckled as he took the fingerless gloves he handed him. “Thanks, man.”

“Ain’t gotta thank me, kid,” he told him. “Done enough rock-climbing and repelling to know that that’s a bad idea without gloves of _some_ sort.”

“Thanks, Judd,” Bobby chuckled. “Forgot about that part, myself since we’ve been so busy trying to figure out how to get this idea outta my head and into Reality.”

“That, and you’re usually not the one doing the repelling to get to a vic unless it’s _really_ bad,” Judd retorted. “You’re used to waiting at the top of the Cliff till the rest of us get the vic up to you.”

“Till I get fed up with the waiting and come down, anywhore,” the paramedic shot back. “And don’t even get me started on how many Sharks I’d to pry off someone’s leg without tearing out an artery.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Beach boy,” his coworker chuckled. “Let’s get lil man up from there and see how he does.”

“Call me that again, and I’ll just pop ya upside the head with a hammer since I can’t kick your ass right now,” Richie warned him. “’Cuz neither of the Caps can write _me_ up.”

The whole crowd that’d gathered couldn’t help bursting into laughter as he reached up to grab the line attached to his harness again. With his hands protected from any rope burn by the leather gloves he’d been handed moments ago, he took a deep breath and started to haul himself up with a grunt. Everybody watched how his arms bulged with the effort of doing just that, then how his legs shook like he was riding out an earthquake as he gave himself a minute to find his balance.

Bobby moved to stand right in front of him, which allowed him to let go of the rope he’d been clinging to so he could grab his hands instead. He couldn’t help a chuckle as he admitted that he didn’t exactly like the way the harness was digging in, but he certainly liked it better than falling on his ass. That led to the whole laughing again as they chimed in their agreement, ’cuz that part definitely wasn’t very enjoyable.

Once he’d given himself that minute and felt comfortable doing so, the youngest man kept his eyes locked with those of his friend as he managed to take his first wobbly step toward him. He felt like a toddler just learning how to walk, and in a way, he supposed he kinda _was_ like that since he was _re_ learning that particular motor skill. Still, he didn’t let the continued stares get to him as he managed to take another step toward his friend, and then another. Before he knew it, they’d reached the other End of the Bridge, which was when he felt the pulley jerk him to a halt. That sudden stop all but threw him into his friend’s arms as it made him lose his balance, but he was pretty quick to find it again.

Grinning as he cheered for him, the paramedic got him turned around for the Return trip to his wheelchair so he could sit down again, if he wanted to. All the others that were watching were quick to join the cheering, which made him Return the grin as he grabbed his hands again. In fact, he was so happy and proud of himself that that Return trip seemed like half the length that it actually was as they made it. But even though it seemed that way, he was all too glad to make it back to his wheelchair, ’cuz he could feel his legs shaking even more than right after he’d first stood up.

“Let’s getcha settled again, then you’re getting a helluva Bear-hug!” Bobby laughed. “’Cuz that was a fuck-ton better than I was expecting, even from you!”

“Tell me that… _after_ we…get me…settled,” the youngest man told him, still grinning.

“I don’t care whether you’re sitting, or still on your feet, Richie,” he chuckled, turning him again. “I know you’re a tougher than nails and boot leather put together, but damn–I figured you’d make it halfway, and that was it.”

“Didn’t I tell ya the Day after my wreck not to sell me short?” Richie laughed, still sounding a lil breathless after he’d flopped into his wheelchair.

“We haven’t managed that length in the house, so I didn’t wanna get either of our Hopes up _too_ high,” the paramedic argued gently.

“He’s a point, son,” Capt. Reagan chuckled as he handed him a Water bottle.

“Pushing yourself’s a good thing, but setting your expectations too high’s only gonna lead to trouble,” his Fire equivalent agreed.

“Making it halfway since that’s double the length of the hall at home woulda suited me just fine,” Bobby told him as he gently cupped his cheeksta make him look at him. “Butcha just managed four Times that–and on the first try, to boot.”

“Gotta admit that the harness’d a lot to do with it,” the youngest man pointed out.

“Maybe in keeping ya on your feet, but the rest of it–that was all you, Rich,” he said. “It was your own stubbornness and determination that keptcha going, even when I saw in your eyes thatcha just wanted to give up and _let_ that harness catch ya.”

Richie couldn’t stop his cheeks from turning pink as he took another sip of his Water bottle.

“I can’t deny how proud I am of ya for managing that, and sooner than I’ll bet even your physical therapist woulda thought,” the paramedic told him. “And even if I tried, I’ve an entire firehouse here ready to knock my head off for it.”

Judd was the first to laugh and admit that they’d prolly come close enough to having heads knocked off when this poor kid had gotten into his wreck. As far as any of them were concerned, they didn’t need to have a repeat of that anytime soon, and certainly not ’cuz they were beating up their coworkers. If anything, he was of the mind that they needed to give this kid a drink for an outstanding job, as well as keep encouraging him to keep at it and do even better than that as Time passed.

Unfortunately for both crews, the alarm signaling that they were getting called out to a scene went off before anyone could get a chanceta agree or disagree. Both those crews sprang into action, the firemen running over to start getting into their turnout gear before jumping into their trucks. Richie cocked a brow as he glanced up at his friend, who was grinning as he watched one of his men suit up before taking off.

Bobby couldn’t help a laugh, nor the urge to ruffle his hair as he simply turned that grin on him, neither of them saying a word–well, not about _that,_ considering where they were. He told him that getting a sudden call like this was par for the course in their line of work, so he’d better get used to it, if he was serious about joining this particular profession at some point. After all, one’d to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, ’cuz they never knew when that alarm was gonna go off, nor how bad a call was actually gonna be till they arrived on-scene. For all they knew, something that sounded routine as it was dispatched was gonna turn out to be anything but once they laid eyes on the actual scene.

The younger man simply shook his head as he laid his Water bottle in his lap, then made to grab the wheels of his chair. He admitted that he’d prolly had enough for today, if he didn’t wanna push himself too far, too soon and only wind up impeding his progress. Luckily, his friend was quick to agree with him, but instead of letting him wheel himself back out to his truck, he grabbed the handles and turned him toward a different part of the firehouse. It was a sure bet that he was getting hungry, and as far as he was concerned, it was just as much his money that’d stocked the pantry here, so the rest of the guys could kiss his ass.


	16. Fifteen

_January, 1992_

“All right, kid–let’s getcha inside and upstairs for your first Day on the new job.”

Nodding as he took a deep breath that he released in a heavy sigh, Richie readied himself to get outta his friend’s truck. Since he was obviously gonna need at least two Years in college to get a job as even an Emergency Medical Responder, he’d decided to go with the best thing available to him at the moment. Besides, that gave him even more Time to work on building up his physical strength since he could walk again, but still needed crutchesta manage long distances, or long periods of Time on his feet.

It was for that very reason that he was outta the truck and already on his feet as Bobby parked his wheelchair so that he could turn around and get settled in it. Those crutches helped him stay on his feet long enough to wait till it was safe, ’cuz neither of them wanted him to fall. Once he was settled comfortably, said friend got the catheter bag he still needed hung onto the back of his chair, then took his crutches from him.

With the crutches hanging on his shoulder, the paramedic locked the doors of his truck before turning his friend’s wheelchair toward the building they were about to enter. It was the building that housed the county dispatch command center, and luckily, there was one dispatcher in particular waiting on them. She was someone the paramedic trusted as much as any of the guys on his team–and even the team that Duff worked with slightly more than he did. Even if no one else watched over his friend in his absence, he knew that this particular dispatcher would, even if she drove him a lil crazy with her _mother Hen_ -like behavior.

“Morn, Grace!” Bobby chuckled after wheeling his friend off the elevator that took them up to his floor.

“Oh, Bobby!” A black woman who appeared to be in her thirties or so jumped up from the table she’d been sitting at and ran over to them, ringlets bouncing the whole way. “It’s so good to see ya again, baby doll!”

“Girl, I ain’t no baby doll!” he laughed, even as he Returned her hug with one arm.

“That shortening of your surname coulda fooled me!” Grace chuckled. “This my fresh meat?”

“New recruit, fresh meat–however ya wanna look at him,” the paramedic answered with a grin.

“Grace Ryder,” she said, holding out a hand to the younger man.

“One of the finest dispatchers in Kootenai County,” Bobby chuckled, encouraging him to take her hand.

“Richie Kotzen,” he finally said, looking up at her as he shook her hand. “Your surname sounds familiar…”

“’Cuz she’s Judd’s wife,” his friend told him, a grin splitting his face. “Ya couldn’t tell by how they both have the same Texan accent?”

“I thought it sounded similar,” Richie admitted with a chuckle of his own. “Butcha know me–I don’t like assuming shit instead of just asking.”

“Well, that’s a habit we’re gonna have to break ya of, kid,” the dispatcher said, giving him a bit of a stern look. “’Cuz on the calls you’re gonna be taking, sometimes it’s not what the person says–it’s what they _don’t_ say that makes all the difference.”

“Treat him right like, Gracie,” the paramedic told her. “Nikki’ll swing by to get him after his shift since he doesn’t work twenty-four hours at a Time.”

“Lt. Sixx, right?” Grace queried.

“Yeah, that’s him.” He nodded as he handed off the crutches he’d slung over his shoulder. “He, Lt. McKagan, and I were all friends, and they’ve kinda taken Richie under _their_ wings, too.”

“Like they damn well should,” she laughed. “Doesn’t matter whether we’re in Texas, Idaho, or North Dakota, Bless it!”

“My sentiments exactly,” Bobby agreed.

“Anything special I need to know about, though?” the dispatcher asked.

The main thing he warned her about when it came to his friend was that while he’d be grateful for any help she could give him, she shouldn’t baby him _too_ much. Another thing was that he was supposed to be getting double-length breaks compared to herself and the other dispatchers. It wasn’t ’cuz he _wanted_ any kinda special treatment, but ’cuz–while he’d gotten better about it–he was still a lil slow with changing his catheters. He might need a few extra minutesta manage that, if it turned out to be necessary at some point during his first shift today.

Nodding, Grace slung the crutches she’d been handed over her shoulder and moved behind his wheelchair to grab the handles. She assured him that she’d make sure his friend was taken care of while he was on the clock, and she felt that that started with heading to the boss’ office. It was for that reason that she’d decided to push him, ’cuz said office was clean across the building, and she didn’t want him wearing himself out without knowing where he was going.

In the boss’ office, it was confirmed that Richie wasta get double-length breaks in consideration for his physical limitations. He also confirmed that there’d be help for him on standby, should he need it, if and when he went to change his catheter. The man was a registered nurse that they employed, ’cuz there were a few other dispatchers with Health problems of their own. Not only that, but there’d been a few calls that were stressful or shocking enough to make a dispatcher faint, and it was better to get them checked out as soon as possible. Beyond that, nobody Intended to baby him just ’cuz he was confined to a wheelchair so he could get around faster than his crutches’d allow.

“Then we’re off to the floor for his first listen-in,” his training dispatcher chuckled.

“Good Luck to ya, son,” their boss said. “I’ve Faith in ya, but don’t hesitate to let us know if ya need anything, all right?”

“Only thing I need right now is my first restroom break,” Richie told them. “’Cuz as long as I’ve needed this damn thing now, I can tell when the catheter’s doing its job and when it’s not.”

“All right, off to the mens’ room with ya first,” she laughed, letting him unlock the wheels of his chair. “I’ll push ya till ya get the building’s layout memorized so ya know where you’re going.”

“Long as ya lay off after that, I can call a truce,” the young man chuckled, settling back for the ride.

Grace gave his shoulder a gentle shove as she got his wheelchair into motion. “That’s just how things’re done down South, boy. It might be done different up here, but once ya spend a Lifetime having that behavior pounded into your skull, ya don’t just drop it.”

“Oh, I never said it was a bad thing,” he told her. “Just that I’m as stubborn as Bobby, and if ya know _him_ at all, you’ll know he’s pretty damn stubborn.”

“Him, and Lts. Sixx and McKagan, both,” the dispatcher laughed. “I swear, those three on their own make my Judd look like he ain’t got a Mule-headed bone in his body. Ya put all three of ’em together, and whew–it makes Juddy look even _less_ stubborn than he really is.”

“I can believe it,” Richie chuckled. “So, you’re really from Texas?”

“Bred, born, and raised,” she answered. “So’s Judd, so he’s even more of a cowboy than _I_ am a _cowgirl.”_

“Nothing wrong with that,” the young man assured her as they came up to the restrooms. “I’m from Penn, myself.”

“I thoughtcha were from up North on the East Coast,” Grace mused as she pushed open the mens’ room door for him. “Now, I’ll be waiting out here for ya, so just holler, if ya need any help. And tap the door with your toes so I’ll know you’re ready for me to open it.”

“Will do, Miss Grace,” he said as he grabbed the wheels of his chair.

With the grunt he typically let out as he set his chair into motion, Richie wheeled himself into the mens’ room. He didn’t pay any mind to the door quietly closing behind him after a few seconds, ’cuz he was more focused on getting into the handicap stall. It was a bit embarrassing to _have_ to use it, rather than choosing to ’cuz it was the only one available, but he didn’t let it get to him.

A few minutes later, he wheeled himself back to the door, careful to put enough Space between his chair and it so that he wouldn’t get hit. It didn’t take more than a second after he rapped his toes against it for it to swing open, the dispatcher who’d promised to wait on him holding it open. He gave her a thankful smile and nodded as he set his chair into motion, easily wheeling himself out and to face the Direction they’d come from before. Only then did he let her take over again so she could push him to wherever their destination was now since he didn’t know his way around.

Grace pushed his wheelchair over to what was obviously a training desk, judging by the dual setup that was settled side-by-side. She told him that there were normally two rolling office chairs next to each other for the dispatcher who was in charge and their trainee. Considering his physical limitations, though, they’d already taken away the second chair to make room for his wheelchair. The good thing was that the desk was low enough that he didn’t have to strain to reach anything, even from the slightly lower-sitting chair in question.

“All right, here ya go,” she said, turning to him with something in her hand after settling in her own chair. “When I saidja were just listening in for now, I wasn’t kidding around.”

“I kinda figured,” Richie mused, taking the headset she handed him. “I mean, it’s not like I know what I’m doing right now.”

“Which’s exactly why you’re being trained, and by one of the best,” the dispatcher laughed.

“So, what exactly is gonna happen?” he queried curiously.

“You’re gonna be listening in to whatever calls come in till I think you’re ready to try an assisted call,” Grace explained. “Once I feel you’re ready, _I’ll_ be the one listening in till ya need help with something. If and when that happens, either I’ll Guideja or I’ll take over completely–whichever the situation calls for at any given Time.”

“All right, doesn’t sound _too_ bad,” the young man told her. “I’ll admit, I’m still a lil nervous, though.”

“Everyone is when they take their first call,” she assured him. “Ya don’t think I wasn’t nervous on _my_ first call down in Texas, do ya?”

“I toldja before, I don’t like to assume,” Richie laughed.

“Well, the key’s to stay Calm–sometimes, we’re the only voice of reason and Hope that a caller has,” the dispatcher said. “Ya can’t let the worry, or any other Emotions flood your voice on a call, ’cuz that might be what makes or breaks a case, especially if it’s one that involves the cops.”

“I’m pretty good at keeping my voice level, even when I just wanna scream,” he told her.

“Then you’ve a leg up on most newbie dispatchers already,” Grace chuckled. “Ready for the first one?”

“Lay it on me, ma’am,” the young man answered, nodding.

Returning the nod, she turned her attention to the setup in front of her and hit the button to answer the call that came in just as they’d finished up their conversation. Her expression was serious as she focused Intently on the call, quickly gathering as much information as she could. Within moments, she’d typed the most pertinent details into her computer and dispatched all three branches of first respondersta the scene of a limb-cutting accident on private property.

For the next couple hours, Richie listened just as Intently and paid strict attention to what his training dispatcher said and did. Part of him hoped that he’d get to answer a call soon, but there was another part of him that was dreading it. He was eager to prove that he could handle doing this job, but at the same Time, he didn’t wanna fuck up–especially one that could go sideways in a heartbeat.

Luckily, Grace was astute enough that all she’d to do was glance over at him–even when she was in the middle of a call–and she could tell whether he was ready or not. Since it’d only been a couple hours, she didn’t quite think he was ready to handle even an assisted call, so she didn’t even suggest it just yet. And that astute Nature of hers turned out to serve them both in good stead, considering the very next call that came in and just how badly it could go. Neither of them realized that as she reached down to answer it, her fingers poised over her keyboard as she did so.

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” she queried once the call connected.

_“Um, yes_ – _I’d like to place an order for a pizza,”_ the caller–obviously a woman–said.

“Ma’am, I think you’ve the wrong number,” Grace told her, a confused look on her face as she moved a hand to hang up on the caller.

_“No, I didn’t say pasta_ – _I said pizza,”_ she told her.

Something in her voice clicked for the dispatcher, who rose from her seat to wave at somebody behind them. “Ma’am, is there somebody with ya who’s making ya feel like ya can’t speak freely?”

_“Yes, that’s right,”_ their caller responded.

The young man couldn’t help shooting his training dispatcher a confused look as she reclaimed her seat, their boss walking over to join them and connecting his own headset to the call.

“How many people are there?” Grace asked, her hands flying as she typed in responses as they were given.

_“Do ya think a medium’d be big enough for two people?”_ she countered.

_“What the hell’re ya doing? I said an extra-large!”_ they heard from the background.

_“Sorry, sorry,”_ the caller quickly said, but they’d heard all they needed to.

“Ma’am, can ya tell me if the man with ya is armed?” the dispatcher queried. “If they’re armed with a gun, I wantcha to ask for extra pepperoni.”

_“Extra pepperoni’d be great.”_

“Is he armed with anything else? Peppers for yes, no Peppers for…” she told her, her hands still flying.

_“Definitely_ no _Peppers,”_ their caller responded.

_“What the hell, woman? It’s a pizza, not a fuckin’ salad!”_

“What’s your name?” Grace just barely glanced up at their boss as she continued taking down the information, said boss copying down certain parts so he could run it through their database on another computer.

_“The name on the card’s Melanie Matthews,”_ she said, her voice more than a lil shaky.

“All right, Melanie–what’s the address of where you’re at?” she queried.

Melanie was quick to rattle off an address, as if she really _was_ making an order for a pizza delivery.

“Police’re already on their way,” the dispatcher informed her. “But I need to know–is this a spouse we’re dealing with–even an ex-spouse?”

_“Yes,”_ Melanie answered.

“Ex-husband, name’s Jack Matthews,” their boss murmured just loud enough for them to hear. “Two priors for aggravated assault and battery, just got paroled today.”

“Then this is his third strike, and he ain’t going quietly,” Grace sighed, forced to type in the dreaded words _hostage situation_.

“I’d imagine not, no.” Shaking his head, their boss continued to listen in.

“Listen to me, Melanie–police’ll be at your door in under four minutes, okay?” she said. “I needja to stay on the line with me for as long as ya can.”

_“Woman, hurry it up_ – _I’m starvin’ over here!”_

_“They’re just really busy,”_ Melanie said, clearly trying to buy Time.

_“Then call somewhere else!”_

_“Hang on, and I’ll find out how long it’ll be,”_ she told the man they clearly knew was her ex-husband now. _“Can ya gimme an estimated wait Time?”_

“Melanie, I’ll have officers at your door in under two minutes,” the dispatcher said. “Just stay with–”

_“Nice try, bitch.”_

Even their boss jumped at the sudden male voice that filled all their ears, knowing this call could very easily go sideways now more than it coulda when it was first answered.

“Jack, right?” Grace asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Listen to me, Jack–there’s two ways this call can End now, and it’s entirely up to _you_ how it goes.”

_“Bitch ruins everything_ – _even a pizza order!”_ Jack snapped, almost completely drowning out the obvious choking Sounds now in the background.

“Nothing’s ruined, Jack,” the dispatcher told him. “You’ve still got a chanceta prove that there’s good in ya.”

_“That ain’t gonna help me, bitch!”_ he growled.

“Yeah, it will, ’cuz there’s something my grama always used to tell me,” she said, praying their original caller understood her coded message, considering the note her boss’d just slipped her. “When God closes a door, he _always_ opens a _window.”_

It took a few moments, but they suddenly heard a noise that could only be made by a victim that was fighting back. That Sound was quickly followed by a pained male cry and a terrified female screech was just as quick to die away. Had it not been for seeing his training dispatcher’s screen and knowing that Fire and EMS were on-scene, Richie woulda thought the worst. But he knew without a doubt that she’d given her a hint to go dive off what they knew was an apartment balcony, ’cuz the firemen’d set up an airbag to break her fall with beneath it.

Seconds later, they could hear several officers yelling at the woman’s ex-husband to get on the ground, their voices overlapping. But even though that was the case, he could still make out Nikki’s voice the most clearly, and he knew things’d stay under Control now. If there was one thing he knew about that particular cop, it was that he’d a way of maintaining Control over everything like no one else he’d ever met.

Grace didn’t End the emergency call till the cop in question radio’d in that they’d apprehended the suspect, who was being hauled off to the Kootenai County Jail. Only once they’d gotten that confirmation did she hit the button to End the call, a smile finally crossing her face for the first Time since she’d answered it. Even still, she was quick to turn her attention to her trainee, wanting to know how he was faring after listening in on such a stressful call.

The dispatcher wasn’t surprised that he needed a few minutesta clear his head before they continued on with their Day. Considering that it was edging on two and a-half hours since they’d officially clocked in, she suggested that they take their first break of the Day. She knew that this job could take just as much outta a person as actually being out in the field, if only ’cuz they couldn’t actually see what was going on like cops, firefighters, and EMTs could. Not knowing what ultimately happened to any given caller unless they were somehow involved with one of those who responded to the call didn’t help with that. Getting overwhelmed on his very first Day wasn’t gonna help matters either, and besides, it was edging on Time for lunch.

“How’re ya holding up so far, Richie?” she asked once they were settled in the command center’s break room a short while later.

“I gotta admit, that–that was…” Richie started, only to cut himself off with a heavy sigh.

“Intense?” the dispatcher suggested with a chuckle. “Yeah, it was. And sadly, you’re gonna get a lotta calls that’re somewhere in that ballpark, especially if ya stay in this line of work long enough.”

“I dunno how ya do it, Miss Grace,” he admitted, looking up at her.

“’Cuz I knew I wasn’t cut out to be in the field, but I still wanted to help folks,” Grace told him. “I might not be able to chase down perps, put out Fires, and dole out medical care, but at the End of the Day, I sleep better at Night knowing that I helped someone.”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it,” the young man mused.

“The same’s true for you right now,” she said, reaching across the table to grab his hand. “You’re in no shape to help anyone physically, but that doesn’t mean ya can’t be the one to dispatch those who _can_ while you’re working up to that.”

“Which’s exactly why I took this job,” Richie chuckled. “After my accident, I couldn’t stand the Thought of there being others who were in my position that I might be able to help like _I_ was helped.”

“Wait, what accident were ya in?” the dispatcher queried, her brow furrowing.

“Sedan versus a big rig last Summer,” he answered, unable to help a grin. “Only hunching over my steering wheel like I did kept my head from getting ripped off when sliding under that trailer peeled my roof off like the top of a Tin can.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Grace breathed, her eyes widening. “I remember that call, ’cuz I’m the one who took it.”

“Well, I guess ya get a lil closure for yourself on that one,” the young man laughed. “’Cuz as ya can see, I survived. Lucky as hell that I did, considering that I coulda had my head ripped off and my spleen pretty much exploded just as they got me to the hospital, but I did.”

“You’re one tough cookie, that’s for sure,” she told him with a laugh of your own.

“Tougher than nails and boot leather, as Bobby says,” Richie chuckled.

“He got that one from my Juddy,” the dispatcher said. “It’s one of the things we say down South, ’cuz if ya make ’em right, boots and old-fashioned nails’ll last forever.”

“Or damn closeta it, anywhore,” he told her. “But like I said, I eventually wanna be out there with those guys, doing the same thing they did for me–I just gotta work up to it.”

Grace nodded her agreement as she glanced down to check her watch, then back up at him, a smile curving her lips. She told him that they’d about fifteen minutes before they needed to be back at their shared desk, so they’d Time for anything like a bathroom break. Even if _he_ didn’t need one by now, she most certainly did, or she wouldn’t be able to sit still long enough to take anymore calls.

The young man issued a nod of his own as he handed his crutchesta her and unlocked the wheels of his wheelchair once again. He said that it was a good idea to check his collection bag, ’cuz while it hadn’t needed changing earlier, it might very well need it now. Other than that, he didn’t really need anything since they’d scarfed down a quick lunch while they were chatting. Although he wasn’t gonna tell his training dispatcher, he didn’t particularly like taking a shit in a public restroom–not that he needed to–and it wasn’t quite Time for a catheter change.

Once they were both done with their respective trips, Richie let her wheel him back over to the aforementioned shared desk. Ever quick to be ready for anything, he already had his headset on and reconnected to the system before she ever sat down. But that seemed to impress her, judging by the smile she shot him as she got her own back on and reconnected to said system. He got the feeling that was gonna bode well for him, ’cuz at least _she_ was on his side here, even if no one else was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say that this'll prolly be the last chapter till at least Sun's Day, y'all... I'm technically supposed to be up in less than six hoursta help dig a massive hole in my front yard for three Apple Trees, so I'm headed off to bed after I get this posted. By the Time I get done with that and shower off all the dirt that's bound to wind up on me, I'm prolly gonna be too exhausted to even attempt writing anything. Just bear with me like y'all have for months at a Time before, and I'll try to get something up as soon as I can...  
> ~Firefly


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